


Blood Bank

by zeerogue



Category: EXO (Band), kp - Fandom
Genre: 2min - Freeform, Baekchen - Freeform, ChanHun, Chenbaek - Freeform, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, SeYeol, TaoXing - Freeform, Vampire AU, Xiuris - Freeform, kailu - Freeform, kyungmyeon, kyungmyun, laytao - Freeform, lukai - Freeform, mentions of past sexual harassment, sudo - Freeform, taeminho, taolay - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-07-14 00:04:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 137,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7143947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeerogue/pseuds/zeerogue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kim Jongin's dreams changed the day he found out he was the son of the current president of one of the largest banks in South Korea. They changed again when he found himself pressed against a back alley wall in a literal tooth and nail fight with a murderous eyed boy. Already down on his luck trying to find a job to prove himself, feeling unusually sleepy during the day isn't going to help, and he can't prep himself up if all the mirrors in the city have stopped working, and worse of all, what if his dad's good looking Chinese intern saw him gulfing down his favorite chicken raw...even if said intern is suddenly showing up in leather pants and corsets. Something's wrong, but being in your twenties, what isn't?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. De Novo

**1. _De Novo_**

 

    Kim Jongin, barely a week into his 25th year of life, stood flustered clenching his freshly bought wool coat with one hand and a red marked up newspaper in the other outside a middle rate insurance company. A man who was both shorter and scrawnier than he towered over Jongin, his nose raised two feet too high into the air as he yelled.

 

“We can't have someone of your background causing trouble for our company.”

 

“What do you mean my background? You haven't even taken a proper look at my resume.” Jongin waved the newspaper at the man and a few slips of printer paper poked out.

 

“Do we need to? Just a look into your background is enough. You may have gone to a prestigious college but you barely passed. And your police record is flawed. No wonder you've been unemployed since graduation. If I'd known Mr. Kim's bastard son was an ex-delinquent, I wouldn't have agreed to the interview. Threatening one of my top workers was way out of line.”

 

“He was the one out of line!” The worker in account had been Jongin's initial interviewer, but apparently he hadn't been briefed on the conditions of Jongin's family life. Rudely, he had refereed to Jongin's mother, who had been as caring as she dared to a son like Kim Jongin, as a mistress and a loose woman. Of course Jongin got mad. Even if she had lied to him for most of his life about his father, that woman was still his mother and it was a deep sore. Wounds like that didn't heal, they scabbed and reopened any time they liked. Jongin had picked up his interviewer's coffee cup and thrown it at the man which had then led to a screaming match between them. One of the female workers had rushed over to help clean up the man only to get involved. And maybe he had threatened to throw another hot coffee over the woman's styled hair and designer blouse if she didn't stop fussing and complicating their argument.

 

The man before Jongin scoffed and threw a file at Jongin. It hit him square in the face and Jongin coward back. “Get out of here before I call the cops. I hear they've been in fights with your father's bank and would more than appreciate a reason to make him look bad.”

 

Jongin sneered, but before he could respond, the man had turned and walked back into the building. With a sigh, Jongin threw down his newspaper and straightened out the coat, freeing it of any wrinkles or dust then slipped it on over his shoulders. He straightened the collar, ran a hand through his gelled hair, then reached down for his newspaper only to find it had landed in a pile of melting snow. He picked it up, flipped through it, and poked at the now bleeding red ink before trashing it. Nothing. He couldn’t get any of these jobs.

 

Jongin stared at the window of the insurance company. The people inside bustled about or typed with a drained look on their face in cubicles as they updated accounts and got ready to call in people for late payments. It wasn't that Jongin had really wanted to be one of those people, but a couple of years of hard work and his degree could potentially bump him up to a manager or get him the work experience he needed to go into a better paying and more respectable company. At least, that was how it was suppose to work. Jongin's eyes shifted and studied the reflection on the window. He didn't look like a 25 year old unemployed bastard with a high school police record to rival any grown fraud master. His suit was purchased tailored to fit him, one of many he’d been given just after graduating, from some fancy named store and he had kept it well over the past couple years. His shoes were bought from the same company, but they were beginning to have one too many scruffs to be considered in fashion this season. Then there was his coat. It was new. Jongin had bought it with the last of his spendable savings for his own birthday. Last winter had been very poor for even getting an interview and he had thought it was because, though his suit looked the part, Jongin had just worn any jacket that kept him warm. If he had the jacket to match the suit, maybe he'd hit the right kind of luck he needed.

 

But, Jongin was born from bad luck.

 

Briefcase, Jongin had had a briefcase when he had gone in for the interview. He found it thrown on the sidewalk with a corner poked into the road. Cars honked at him as he bent down to get it. He paid them no mind as he started down the street. His interview was suppose to take an hour then he was to go to his father's bank just like he did every weekday and get extra training for the bank since he had barely did 'well' in college. Jongin knew he should try looking for another job, but he couldn't see what would be any difference in yesterday's job openings and today's. Food sounded good though he only had a few dollars in his pocket just in the off chance he got the courage to ask that intern out for coffee. Not like that would be today either.

 

Jongin headed the the direction of his favorite and cheapest street stall.

 

“Stop! Stop, someone stop her!”

 

Jongin was surprised by the yell. He looked up to see a girl with her jacket hood up rushing down the street holding a grocery bag tight in her arms. There was a man in an apron running behind her yelling.

 

“Those are my vegetables! Vegetable thief!”

 

Vegetables? Jongin started to move so as not to be in the way of the running couple, but he felt something. The girl, she was looking straight at him, her eyes glazed, but trained, and wild. They made it impossible to move. By the time she looked away, it was too late. Jongin didn't mean to catch her, but he had to reach out or get pushed. He grabbed onto her jacket and yanked to keep himself steady. She tried to grab onto Jongin's arm to do the same and let loose her bag of vegetables. They flew up into the air. Instinctively, Jongin moved his arm away from her grasp so she wasn’t touching his precious coat, but the movement made him loose grip on his briefcase and it followed the vegetables onto the road where he watched in horror as cars ran over them without mercy. Jongin pushed the girl away when he heard a crunch and started to run towards the street, but people in the crowd that had gathered since the man started yelling pulled him back and copies of his resume and the previous week's worth of newspapers along with notes and crumbled rehearsed speeches were scattered across the floor as his cheap briefcase was popped open.

 

“My vegetables!” the man yelled.

 

“Your vegetables! I'm the one that paid for them,” the girl yelled. “It's not my fault you weren't fast enough in getting the good crop. I grabbed them first.”

 

Jongin felt his face grow red. The girl had been running from a guy wanting to steal her vegetables and not the other way around? Why had she bothered mowing him down then? Usually, that was a distraction tactic, Jongin knew about that well. He turned onto both, fuming.

 

“What about my briefcase!”

 

The man took one look at Jongin. The expensive clothes seemed to work as he just pointed at the girl then quickly made his get away with a quick  Ah, wrong girl, my mistake. Jongin wanted to chase after the man, but the girl was still here and he turned to glare at her. She had those glazed eyes again, but shook herself of it and placed one hand on her hip while gesturing to the road with the other.

 

“What? Look at my vegetables? That's the day's worth for my shop you know! That briefcase of yours look cheap if it can pop open so easy. Did you have money in it or something?”

 

“No,” Jongin answered. He stopped glaring.

 

“Did you have important documents in there?”

 

Jongin could always reprint the resumes and everything else was old. His shoulders sunk. “No.”

 

“Then does it matter about your briefcase. I'm not going to be able to sell any sandwiches today and I'm already running low on meat. And most of my customers only eat the veggie sandwich.” She moved her hand so she could point a finger at Jongin. “If you had only caught me properly.”

 

“I wasn't trying to catch you. This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't come barreling into me. If they were your vegetables, you shouldn't have needed to run,” Jongin yelled back, but he knew there was nothing much that could be done about the briefcase. At least it hadn't been his coat.

 

“He was a big guy and I'm a small girl,” the girl defended. “You owe me.” She held out her hand.

 

Jongin stared at it and stared at it until she held it out again then he laughed.

 

“No,” Jongin said and turned. “I'm leaving, your fight is with the man that ran away. I'm just an innocent bystander that you knocked into.”

 

“Hey, don't walk away from me!” the girl yelled after him, but Jongin couldn't be bothered. Some of the crowned seemed to agree with her, but most just left. It could have been one of them and maybe they knew that or maybe, despite the cheap briefcase, Jongin's clothes worked on them as well. He'd skip the street food and go straight to his father's bank. The intern would help him hide until his scheduled time.

 

**$**

 

“Why is it always so cold in here,” Jongin mumbled as he slipped through the first line of security at his father's bank and back to the offices. He kept his coat on and buttoned, hands stuffed in his pockets and trudged towards one of the many break rooms throughout the building. On first glance, the Kim Eun Bank didn't appear very large from the inside. There was much of it that customers didn't see besides the vaults. Offices and cubicles lined the floors behind security and there were meeting rooms on the floors above used for both the workers and big money loans. Jongin knew about most of it, though a few calculations on the more difficult programs still tripped him up. He took a beeline for the farthest break room upon seeing one of his father's secretaries. He still had half an hour before they were suppose to meet. If anything, he knew his father would rather he be five minutes late. That was all he really knew about his father, about the man whose sperm created the other half of him.

 

The man Jongin's mother had happened to marry also had the name Kim, so there had been no need to change his name when he was put on his real father's family registry. He was a kind and old man, Jongin's step-father, who didn't deserve the divorce his mother gave him. Jongin had always known they weren't blood related even if the man treated Jongin like his own son. His mother had told him his real father was just some high school punk and seduced a pretty college student. Since he was so young, Jongin's father ran off and so his mother married the first man that would take her in pregnant belly and all. He believed that until his senior year in high school when a limo pulled up to his school and he was presented with a birth certificates he had never seen before.

 

Kim Eunjoon was a man reaching his sixties in a very well manner. Looking at him, Jongin would never be able to deny the rich bank owner was his father by blood, but other than to order him around, the man did not bother to get close to his only son. His heir. He had two daughters from a very young wife just a few years older than Jongin's own mother, Hyoyeon and Hyuna. They were beautiful, but well established in their own businesses. The second daughter was already married and it had been planned that the company would go to Jongin's brother-in-law, but there had been a rocky relationship between the in-laws and so Jongin was brought in as a backup.

 

Jongin hadn't wanted to be a banker. He hadn't wanted to do anything.

 

That was a lie. He wanted to dance. But, he'd given that up the first time he'd stolen soccer shoes from a street vendor his third year of middle school just after learning that his mother was divorcing the good old man he had grown up admiring. He owned a little store that sold music and other trending merchandise and it was there Jongin gained his love for music and dance, but the signs of a divorce should have been obvious. His mother never agreed with his dream of dancing. She always tried to run off the only good friends Jongin had. She wanted him to study. Jongin only didn't to spite her. He liked reading and enjoyed classes, it was just homework that was stressful. It was the same in college.

 

“Thinking hard?”

 

Jongin lifted his head and immediately smiled. “Lu Han.”

 

A slim pretty man was seated at the table in the break room Jongin stumbled into nursing a cup of coffee. He wore a dark gray blazer and a navy tie with polka dots at the neck of his crisp white dress shirt. His brown hair was teased to give it a bit of fluff and there was a light flush to his ivory cheeks from the coffee steam. Lu Han smiled and crinkles formed at the corners of his eyes. “Aren't you early today, Jongin?”

 

Jongin looked down immediately ashamed. “The interview didn't go well. I got into a fight and they kicked me out.”

 

“Again? Well did they at least deserve it this time?” Lu Han asked.

 

“The interviewer said bad things about my mother.”

 

Lu Han frowned at that. “Well then I think he deserved that fight.”

 

“I poured his coffee all over his clothes.”

 

Instinctively, Lu Han pulled his own coffee towards himself.

 

Jongin's eyes widened and he reached a hand out. “I...I wouldn't do that to you, Lu Han.”

 

Lu Han laughed. “Of course not. I can never imagine you with a temper, you're a cute kid when I'm with you.”

 

“I'm not a kid,” Jongin complained and moved to take the seat across from Lu Han. He wouldn’t deny the cute part if Lu Han wanted to say it.

 

“Right, but I'm almost thirty so I can call you a kid,” Lu Han said and stood up. “Want some coffee?”

 

“You're twenty-eight,” Jongin replied and nodded his head at the coffee, watching as Lu Han walked to the coffee machine placed in a corner of the break room with some stale muffins. He had a slim frame and a face that made people guess he was ten years younger than his actual age. The women at the company always asked Lu Han for his Chinese beauty secrets and he always mumbled something in Chinese then said there wasn't a Korean translation for it. Jongin was pretty sure Lu Han was just calling them idiots or old hags. The intern for the overseas business transaction department was just beautiful and smart and Jongin more than admired him.

 

“Here,” Lu Han said and slid a cup of cream filled coffee towards Jongin. “One third coffee, three thirds every creamer I can find, and a spoonful of sugar, just the way you like, little prince.”

 

“I hate coffee,” Jongin said and sipped the cup. Lu Han knew that. His coffee always tasted more like coffee flavored milk than the other way around. “If this little prince becomes king, I'm making you my secretary, Lu Han.”

 

Lu Han sighed and leaned a cheek on his fist as he watched Jongin sip his coffee. “Unless you plan to expand into China I won't be very useful I'm afraid.”

 

“Then China it is,” Jongin said. He liked when Lu Han watched him and he liked watching Lu Han. He liked watching Lu Han a lot. “How's....uh...Lu Cat?”

 

Lu Han chuckled. “He's good. Still doesn't come when I call.”

 

“That's probably because you don't give him a real name,” Jongin teased. “I gave you a lot of suggestions when you got him.”

 

“I'm bad with names,” Lu Han sighed. “But, speaking of names, I had to drop a few to one of your father's secretaries. I'm friends with some big business heirs.”

 

Jongin narrowed his eyes. “What does this have to do with me?”

 

Lu Han straightened up in his seat. “I had to see if they knew any available and rich twenty something year old women. Your dad wants you to get engaged.”

 

Jongin groaned and laid his head on the table. “I'm going to have to look at these pictures, aren't I? He's not going to be happy after he hears I screwed up the interview.”

 

“Do you want to have a look now? I've got a copy of a few of them so you can have an idea. I've even picked a few Chinese women I know,” Lu Han asked.

 

The idea of being engaged disgusted Jongin and he felt queasy. “I don't have an affinity to Chinese, okay?”

 

Lu Han tilted his head, eyes twinkling. “You sure?”

 

“I hate women.”

 

Lu Han's eyes softened. “I know.”

 

Jongin looked away. In which way did Lu Han know?

 

**$**

 

Jongin opted out of a second scolding by going straight to his studio apartment instead of back home. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stay in the apartment and it was such a nice one even for one room and a closet. Originally, he was suppose to have free rent as long as he tended the garden outside and watered the planter boxes inside, but only when the original landlord was overlooking. Jongin was pretty sure the woman had gone to an elderly home as her nephew now took care of the place and he was coming around more often recently. There was a gardening company that came by once a week to take care of the flora and Jongin wondered how long until the nephew realized his 'free rent' had come with a condition, or found out how to legally take back the contract Jongin had. For the time being, he kept his room sparse, just a couple of yoga mats he used as a mattress and a stereo, mirrors lining one wall. He had signed up saying it was a dance studio and he came at night so he wouldn't have to sleep at home. It wasn't home, though. His home had been a small apartment above his step-father's store. Now, it was a small house a couple streets from his real father's estate. Being so close, his mother would absolutely know he failed again. He had barely managed to live down the anger his real father had thrown at him earlier by pretending to be interested in the women in the file and agreeing to another interview the next day.

 

There was a beep from Jongin's cellphone and he picked it up smiling immediately seeing a picture of his two best friends and a caption asking him if he wanted to go out. He quickly changed and sent a reply meeting two young men around his age in the middle of a park. They both wore masks and caps and heavy jackets. Jongin dressed a bit more to his style, comfortable, but cool. Unlike his friends, he wasn't an idol. There was no one looking up to him.

 

“Taemin, Wonsik, hey,” Jongin greeted.

 

“Jongin, hurry your butt up, it's cold,” the younger of the two, Taemin, said, a happy lift in his voice. He had recently put out a solo album so he was still a fresh topic on the streets..

 

“We don't really have much time these days, what do you want to do?” the other asked.

 

“It's we now?” Jongin asked. “Your group hasn't even had a comeback this year.”

 

Wonsik frowned. “We're still new and the company is busy. How about we just go drink?”

 

“I don't like alcohol,” Jongin disagreed.

 

“You don't like coffee or alcohol, you're just like the kid of the group which you are so listen to your elders,” Wonsik replied.

 

“I want beer and chicken,” Taemin said.

 

Jongin sighed and followed his two older friends, his two only friends. He had lost contact with them a bit in high school. Occasionally, they came by, but Jongin was in a bad place and Taemin had just debuted with his band and Wonsik was busy training.. And Jongin hadn't wanted them to get involved with his high school 'friends' so it had been a struggle for him, but they were the only ones that didn't try and shun Jongin up the moment they found out he was heir to a highly respected bank.

 

They walked to their usual bar and to their usual corner and just as usual, Jongin was the one that went up to the bar counter and ordered the drinks and food, but there was something unusual tonight. The bartender was different. Jongin looked around. Their usual bartender was a Chinese guy that looked like he was dreaming half the time, but would come out and play guitar for the guests. This guy was definitely Korean and seemed to be glaring at everyone with white rich eyes as he took their orders. But, most of all, he glared at Jongin with the fiery intensity of hell.

 

“Order,” the guy said.

 

“Huh...oh...a soju, a beer, and a small order of unseasoned chicken.”

 

The guy nodded and repeated the words silently to himself, moving thick lips and furrowing on point eyebrows. For all his creepiness, the guy was kind of attractive. He had a weird aura about him that made Jongin not want to move aside. He took a seat at the bar and watched the guy as he got their drinks and chicken. When he turned back to Jongin, he was glaring even more.

 

“I have a boyfriend,” the guy said.

 

“Okay,” was all Jongin could answer. He hadn't really been interested, there was just something about the guy. He walked back to their usual corner feeling confused.

 

“Wow, are you usually this bold checking out guys?” Wonsik asked as he took the soju Jongin handed him.

 

“I wasn't,” Jongin defended and started on the chicken.

 

“Jongin's already got someone he likes,” Taemin chirped then guzzled down some beer. Jongin found it a bit gross. Taemin was a pretty boy. He fit the bill of a kpop artist to the T and he already had a life time partner with a few in between liaisons because things just happened, like the one time Taemin had invited Jongin to go to Japan with him back in his college days. It had been great at the time, but Jongin never wanted to experience that again. Relationship wise Taemin wasn't his type and Wonsik was straight.

 

“I'm an adult, even if I like someone, I can still date someone else. Besides, the guy flat out told me he had a boyfriend before I could even ask for his name.”

 

Taemin laughed. “You were refused before you could even make a move?”

 

Jongin glowered and kicked Taemin lightly under the table. He couldn't kick him hard. Taemin had dances to perform and a band member to ride.

 

“Well, I'm not so sure about a refusal. The guy keeps looking over here with some really suspicious eyes. Maybe he wants a threesome,” Wonsik pointed out.

 

Jongin looked up. The guy was glaring at them, glaring at him. They were glazed but focused. Lust, but not quite. Honestly, Jongin felt a little scared. “Hey, guys, I've got to go for a minute.”

 

“Bathrooms are out back,” Wonsik said.

 

“Thanks for the reminder.” Jongin wiped his face and headed for the door in the back regretting not bringing his jacket along, but he wasn't about to walk all the way back to the front of the bar as the back exit was exit only. He made his way to one of two doors on the building next door not paying attention to the sound of the back door opening again as he entered a bathroom. He hurried with his business and came back out only to find his way blocked by the new bartender.

 

“Oh, do you need to clean in there?” Jongin asked and tried to get around the new bartender.

 

The bartender shook his head and pushed Jongin back into the bathroom.

 

“Hey, what's the big idea. You said you had a boyfriend and I'm not interested anymore,” Jongin protested, but felt himself being pushed against the bathroom wall. It was dark. He always turned the little light off before leaving the bathroom. He regretted the habit now. He could hear a low growl. Did the guy have a dog? Was there some wild animal in here all the time? This was ridiculous. Jongin reached out and pushed at the new bartender, but he wouldn't budge. Not even an inch. Solid as rock. The bartender just growled more when Jongin kicked him and pressed his arm against Jongin's windpipe to keep him against the wall. Jongin was scared. He startled easily, but he didn't scare easily and that made him twice as scared. This guy was way stronger than he looked. He must have been crazy, a lunatic. Maybe he had done something with the usual bartender. “Let...go...” Jongin choked.

 

“Blood,” the guy croaked out.

 

Blood? The guy was crazy. Jongin was going to be choked out before he could use Lu Cat as an excuse to go to Lu Han's place. Before he could actually become friends with his older half-sisters. Before...before he could actually do something with himself.

 

The arm suddenly disappeared, but before Jongin could take advantage of that, teeth replaced the arm and Jongin stared into the darkness with horror. They were sharp as needles, but thick like nails, suctioned between his shoulder and neck. He felt a cold liquid against the puncture wounds and then warmth as the blood began to flow out of his veins. A tongue lapped at it for a while then a rhythmic sucking. It felt almost like getting a hickey, but way more painful, the most painful hickey Jongin had ever received. And it lasted until Jongin's mind became foggy and he resisted the urge to fight back. His veins felt hot, like lava was moving through them until a wave so salty it stung drowned his heart.

 

When the teeth pulled away, all Jongin could do was crumble into a heap on the floor and struggle to breath.

 

 

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------


	2. Major Arcana

**2. _Major Arcana_**

 

Had Jongin known he'd be disappointing his father a second day in a row, he may have taken Taemin up on his many offers to speak to Lu Han for him. If his father got one more reason to write him off, he'd never hear the end of it from his mother and she'd strip Jongin of any savings he had before kicking him out of the house and then that nephew at the studio rental really would find a reason to end his free rent contract. Then he'd have to sell his body on some corner street somewhere, or worse, his art and Taemin and Wonsik would never forgive Jongin if he did that.

 

Those thoughts came in a rush along with nausea and a pounding headache the moment Jongin woke up and his eyes landed on the unnerving red letters of his digital clock. It was halfway through the afternoon already and Jongin hadn't the faintest idea how he'd gotten home last night. There was just a nightmare that wouldn't fade as Jongin sat up and took in his surroundings. He wasn't at the studio. Someone had brought him back to the small estate his mother had been given. It hadn't been himself. Jongin didn't enjoy drinking much and on the few occasions he felt like getting plastered, he always went back to his studio. His mother didn't much care for drunks nor knew how to care for them. His own step-father rarely came home with a flushed face and on those nights he did, his mother always avoided him. The same could be said where his real father was concerned. His mother was all bright eyes and smiles the moment his real father came to visit, but as soon as the housekeeper prepared a glass of liquor for him, his mother made sure to stay half across the room.

 

Jongin got up and stretched his arms above his head before looking around for his clothes to find that he was still in everything but his jacket which was thrown across the dark stained wood of his desk. He didn't bother picking it up and began to strip himself of the rest of his previous day's clothing, throwing them against expensive furnishings that were more for show than his comfort. The room Jongin called his own was anything but small; however, it was empty. Other than a few photos the housekeeper had handed him over the years since he had first been contacted by his birth father, the only other items that screamed Jongin were his laptop, an ipod stereo, and the creased spines of the many books lining expensive shelves along with a single shelf with Jongin's dance trophies back when he was young and had dreams. Jongin walked over to the trophies. Ballet, talent contests, best reader's award – all kept with pride and shown to his real father the very first moment he stepped back into their lives then shoved into the back of Jongin's closet until the housekeeper found them. He moved passed the shelf and squatted down in front of the bookshelf instead and began to run his fingers against each creased spine. This room had originally came with a rich selection of books, but, in the past years, Jongin had quickly finished them all. The housekeeper had them all separated alphabetically, but Jongin liked to reorder them by how much he had enjoyed them all the way from his favorite fantasy book to self helps and down to his boring college textbooks he always kept at the end. The housekeeper didn't much like it when he did that, but Jongin found it took up an afternoon or more and sometimes he wouldn't be able to remember which book he had enjoyed more than another so he'd sit and read until he remembered. It was a good activity to do quietly without anyone knowing he was home and he didn't want his mother to start berating him before she had even found out about Jongin missing his job interview.

 

When the sun had set completely over the horizon, Jongin lifted himself from his comfortable spot on the plush carpet of his room. He kicked a couple of the books he'd made a nest of and walked to his closet to choose a new set of street clothes then went to the bathroom and stared. The nightmare, it was fresh on his skin. A purple and red mark shaped almost in a heart was sucked into his collarbone and dotting the edge like little dark jewels were puncture wounds. The top two were just slightly more apart than the bottom two and much deeper. There was a bit of a green hue around them, too, as if they had been infected and Jongin leaned closer to the mirror. The veins close to the mark were greener as they moved down his chest to his heart and Jongin pressed his hand against his chest. There was a beating. It was faint even though Jongin felt like his whole world was crashing around him. This was ridiculous. It had been a nightmare, just a nightmare. Jongin had believed that all morning. That glaring bartender had spiked his chicken with something and followed him out. Maybe he had gone with him afterward for a threesome, though no part of his body signaled such activities and it had been so long since he'd experienced anything sexual. But, getting bit? That guy must have just been crazy and Jongin stressed, so he'd passed out and his friends must have taken him back home.

 

Right?

 

Jongin rushed back into his bedroom and looked for his phone. There were a couple texts from Taemin and Wonsik saying they'd found him out cold in the back alley with a couple guys they'd befriended when Jongin didn't come back right away. The guys had offered to take Jongin back home and since Taemin and Wonsik had been tipsy, they'd agreed. Jongin texted back that he'd gotten home fine, but he wasn't sure how strangers would know where he lived. They must have been very neatly dressed for the housekeeper to let them in if she was still here by then or good with words for his mother to let them in.

 

Jongin sighed and went back to the bathroom. He put some ointment on the bite and got dressed. He had a thought to go to the police about the attack, but they wouldn't believe him would they? Just a couple of drunkards fighting. It would be best just not to think about it and watch the wound for infection. He'd go ahead and head out before his mother got home and had a chance to nag him. It was Friday night, Jongin's favorite night.

 

**$**

 

On Friday nights, the city was alive with citizens clattering about both innocently and with dirty agendas. Jongin preferred the innocent side most nights and the most innocent were those who could dream and those that made you wish you still dreamed – high school girls a twitter in groups shopping, college students having a drink with books out and spread on tables huddled deep in their coats, and Lu Han. Every Friday night since Jongin had began high school, he had made his way to a certain underpass where a retro street performer's stage was setup, cardboard and nineties style boombox and all. And in the middle of it all was the twenty-nine year old Lu Han dressed in Hip Hop sweats and a snapback, eyes twinkling as he danced or sung or strummed on a guitar he only kind of knew how to play.

 

Jongin took up his usual place on the sidewalk of the underpass just slightly behind Lu Han's set up. He use to stand smack straight in Lu Han's front line view when his admiration of the older man had still been innocent. Jongin had first run into Lu Han at the end of his first year of high school when he tried running away for the first time. None of his so called friends wanted to come with him and he would never dare to ask Taemin and Wonsik. He happened to see quite a few street performers and then he saw Lu Han and he stood there until it got too cold and he was forced to go back home, but the image of this beautiful boy dancing plagued him and so Jongin went every Friday night with his own stage and started to dance always within eyesight of Lu Han. He learned Lu Han's name through passerbys and his nationality from Chinese vacationers. Everything else about Lu Han he’d learned from hanging around like a stalker after performances and listening to the conversations Lu Han’s more courageous admirers had with him. They didn't talk until one rainy day years later.

 

It was his senior year of high school when Jongin learned he was gay. Taemin had admitted his own sexuality only a month before though he’d been actively sleeping with men only months after his debut and the suspicion that Jongin shared the trait plagued his mind every time he tried to relive his gallivanting days as a punk ass delinquent. There had been girls. So many girls, usually older, and each experience with them had made the pit of his stomach tighten and squeeze. He had quite a collection of indigestion medicines because of them. But, he thought he just had performance anxiety and forced himself because that was what was expected of him and his mother hated it. She didn't want him to ruin a girl's life, it had nothing to do with him at that point. Jongin had found his mother's protectiveness of other young girls both admiral and disheartening. He had told Taemin and Taemin set him up with an idol that was living under the radar. Jongin agreed (he had wanted some kind of fuck you to his newly introduced father) and had no complaints about that night up to the point he had met Lu Han early in the morning at a doughnut shop. The inspiring dancer was suited up head to toe, soft hair gelled back, sipping coffee from a heavy duty foam cup, a napkin with crumbs set to the side as he typed away on his computer. And then there was Jongin, sweater wrinkled and pants stained with who knew what, smelling of sweat and someone else with a filled doughnut sticking out of his mouth and four more in his bag.

 

Jongin prayed that Lu Han wouldn't look up, but of course he did.

 

“Oh, it's you.”

 

“Uh...yeah.”

 

Lu Han's smile was always bright and even more so when directed at Jongin. “I thought you were a high schooler, Jongin.”

 

“I am.” He knows my name. Why does he know my name?

 

“Oh?” Lu Han's eyes went wide before settling teasingly. “I see, looks like you had fun then. I'm getting ready to head to work now, so I'll lend you this seat. I'll see you Friday though.”

 

Jongin watched Lu Han gather his stuff and leave and it was only later that he realized Lu Han must have been more than a couple years his senior to already have a grown up job, but at that moment, Jongin had only been able to wonder how Lu Han had known his name.

 

He stopped dancing after that conversation simply because he barely had ten minutes every Friday night to being forced to study hard so he could get into his birth father's choice of college, but he still made time to see Lu Han. Instead of following his dances or appreciating his voice, though, Jongin noticed he followed the move of Lu Han's body and the way his small lips formed the sweet words. He was attracted to Lu Han, he'd been attracted to him for years.

 

“Jongin!”

 

Jongin looked away from Lu Han when the music stopped and met the other man's eyes. Lu Han waved at him and took a step in his direction only to be stopped by fans. An adoring smile formed on Jongin's lips at that. He was glad Lu Han was still popular as a street performer after so many years mostly due to the fact his fans still thought him young and a potential idol that would debut soon. That would be a good excuse to use. Jongin knew Lu Han couldn't stay an intern much longer. He started towards Lu Han, hoping to save him from his young fans. Maybe he would finally be able to ask Lu Han out for coffee...or tea, Jongin preferred tea, but he felt someone suddenly grab him and lead him around one of the pillars that held up the overpass.

 

“You, I'm glad I found you. Pay up for the vegetables.”

 

Vegetables? Jongin looked down to see the girl from yesterday and rolled his eyes. “Are you stalking me or something? Also, are your brains rattled? I'm not the guy you should be asking this of.”

 

The girl set her face in an icy glare. “The other guy ran. I can't find him anymore, but it's your fault I lost my crop. I could only sale meatball sandwiches all day. It was really difficult when half my customers are vegans and vegetarians.”

 

“I never knew there were that many in South Korea,” Jongin said and started to turn away.

 

“Hey, at...at least...how about you come work at my shop for a day, huh?”

 

Jongin turned back at the word work. “Work at your sandwich shop? I mean, why would you think I want to do that?”

 

The girl smirked. Jongin hoped she hadn't caught on. “Well, you were pretty fancy the other day, but what would a fancy young business man be doing out at night already dressed in street clothes? You should still be in a suit with business partners trying to smooch up to them. Are you unemployed? Then come work for me. I'll take the money out of your first check.”

 

“You can't take that money out of my check, I didn't...” Jongin was interrupted by his phone ringing and pulled it out to see his mother calling. His birth father must have been really disappointed. He ignored it for now. “Look, why do you even need a worker?”

 

The girl smiled and grabbed Jongin's phone before he could pocket it. “Well, I had hired someone, but he got himself in a bit of trouble so you'll be helping me out a lot. Here.”

 

Jongin snatched his phone back and pocketed it not bothering to look at the girl's number he guessed she had slipped in.

 

“Call me when you change your mind, alright? I think you'd be perfect.”

 

Jongin glared as the girl left and walked back towards Lu Han's stage only to find it gone. He pulled out his phone and glared at the new contact on his screen, cursing under his breath.

 

Krystal.

 

**$**

 

Jongin was forced to trudge to his father's bank early Monday morning. He should have been saved the blunt of the man's anger by a whole weekend, but Jongin had already had to endure his mother's lecture when he had arrived home Friday night and she hadn't been pleased when Jongin had slept in both Saturday and Sunday. In all honestly, Jongin would have been up much earlier, even on nights when he practiced through the night he could hold off on little sleep, but the past couple of days had been rough and he had had to set five alarms this morning just to make sure he didn't miss his father's lecture. He was glad the sun wasn't out as he walked over. Even though it was still winter, it had been a warm one and Jongin suspected an early spring with how warm the sun's light felt against his skin. Maybe warm wasn’t the word, though. It tingled. He was unrecognizable when he entered the bank, sunglasses on and a scarf pulled halfway up his face. It took some effort to unwrap everything and the security guards seemed annoyed. Jongin would be annoyed, too, having to cater to an ex-delinquent bastard child.

 

Kim Eunjoon's office was on the top floor down a long empty hallway with only two doors before reaching it. Jongin stood in front of his father's main secretary and waited for the older woman to finish a call. She looked up at Jongin, annoyed, and gestured behind her.

 

“You're late, kid, he said eight-thirty not nine,” she said. “You'll have to wait in the waiting room for him to finish a business call.”

 

Jongin frowned. “I was told nine-thirty.” He had thought he'd gotten there early.

 

“Not according to my schedule, just go.”

 

Jongin did. All the secretaries acted as if they had no time for him and Jongin had no time for them either. He walked to one of the two doors before his father's office. The waiting room was simple, but fancy compared to any other waiting room in the building. There was a fake fireplace with a television on one wall and a brown leather couch set seated in front of it. To one end was a liquor bar and Jongin's eyes widened a moment seeing a woman standing there mixing a drink.

 

“Oh, Jongin, dear, you're late,” the woman said greeting him.

 

“Mrs. Kim,” Jongin greeted back and bowed. “I thought I was early. I was told the wrong time.”

 

“Ah, yes, your mother must have gotten it wrong,” Mrs. Kim said and gestured to a seat. “My husband isn't as angry with you as he would be, he's just stressed since the problems with your brother-in-law's family are getting worse. He may force Hyuna to divorce.”

 

Jongin frowned, but took a seat. Mrs. Kim was his father's official wife and the mother of Jongin's two older half-sisters. She was only five years older than his own mother and still just as beautiful for a fifty year old woman and Jongin never could understand why, with a wife already fifteen years younger than him, his father would need a lover just barely a legal adult. And he had heard of other lovers. They started sprouting up as soon as his father made it official who Jongin was and it made him sick sometimes at night thinking he was related to that man. In the history of this family business, he had been the least successful money wise but great for publicity, Jongin had learned in his studies, but he dared not bring that up when he was yelled at. That title could always go to Jongin in the future.

 

“Would you like some tea?” Mrs. Kim asked.

 

“Yes...uh, please,” Jongin responded.

 

Mrs. Kim placed aside her own drink and pulled out a steaming pot. “It must have been your mother that got the time wrong. She's not very good at those sorts of things, but I have tasted her cooking. It was very good. I believe that's what she originally went to college for. It's unfortunate she lets that man take advantage of her so, not after that day he kicked her out.”

 

AKA: the day he beat her. Jongin knew that was what that meant. Back then, his father had lofts, not side houses, where he kept his lovers. He hadn't seen his mother in over a month, probably tired of her disillusions that he'd divorce Mrs. Kim and marry her. She said she was pregnant and he beat her because she was popular with boys and that child wasn't his child, but Jongin was his child, there was no mistaking it even though they'd still gone through with the blood test after Jongin was born.

 

In all honestly, true hate wasn't the feeling he had for women, that was the feeling he held for Kim Eunjoon.

 

“She just wants luxuries now,” Jongin said. “What person doesn't?”

 

“Hmm, one who already has them, I believe,” Mrs. Kim said and brought over Jongin's tea.

 

Jongin looked up at her as he took the glass and bowed his head. He did not mind Mrs. Kim. She had always been sweet to him even if he was her step-son, even if it was he who would inherit the company and not her daughters, and she treated his mother fairly for the ex-lover of her husband even if she thought the other woman airheaded. Jongin took a sip of his tea. “Why don't you divorce him?”

 

Mrs. Kim took a sip of her drink. “I've been with him so long and yet it's still the same reason. There's nothing for me if I do. He hasn't touched me in years, you're old enough to understand what that means in more ways than one, so it is more of a business position for me. I keep his name and a level head about his follies and I get paid by having full access to his accounts as well as other perks. With a job like that, why would I give it up?”

 

Jongin supposed Mrs. Kim was correct. It was a job, and though unpleasant, she had a position of power she did not want to give up.

 

“I'll leave you to think of some words to use on your father so he doesn't chew too much off from you. You're already skin and bones where your mentality is, I can tell. Oh, and perhaps bond with your sisters, especially Hyuna. If you two are goody-goody with each other, her husband will have to watch himself,” Mrs. Kim said before leaving.

 

Jongin just nodded. His sisters were entities he didn't know how to get close to, but he knew eventually he would have to pretend they knew each other, but he couldn't worry about that now. Mrs. Kim was right about him needing something to get his father off his back with this bad luck streak. Something. Something. If only he could have a job like Mrs. Kim, just something to secure him.

 

Jongin pulled out his phone and scrolled to the newest contact.

 

Krystal.

 

He dialed.

 

“Hello, this is Krystal Wiches, how may I help you?” Jongin wanted to laugh at the name of the deli, but kept his composure. It would only be a few minutes before he walked into the lion's den and he needed this trump card.

 

“I'm not paying back those vegetables, but I'll take you up on that job offer.”

 

“Oh, briefcase boy? That sounds great, we'll get the details in later. Come by at noon and you'll work until nine.”

  
Jongin hung up and sighed. Alright, time to go cool the flames.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be posting Fridays/Saturdays and Tuesdays/Wednesdays from now on. This story would take six months otherwise.


	3. Manu Propria

**3. _Manu Propria_**

    

    Krystal Wiches was written in fancy gold lettering on a plastic sign outside a remodeled bakery, a thirty minute walk from Jongin's studio apartment. It had an abandoned barbershop as its roof with a red and white skirting and there was a pipe that constantly ran water, flooding the sidewalk when it rained. Jongin wasn't impressed. Five years ago and this would have been a perfectly acceptable job, but he was the heir to a bank, he'd graduated from a prestigious college, his coat cost more than most laborer's first paycheck. Those thoughts were what pushed Jongin through the front doors of the deli. He didn't know when he had become such a snob, but he said he'd gotten a job and a job he would have.

 

The door to the deli jingled as the metal frame hit a small bell hanging just inside and a familiar girl popped her head up just enough that Jongin could see her eyes. They widened then glazed. She looked away then brightened. “Oh, briefcase boy.”

 

“Kim Jongin,” Jongin introduced.

 

The girl lifted a hand to go along with her eyes and waved Jongin to one side of the deli. “Okay, well go write that down on that packet then. You have to fill that out so it's all legal and shit.”

 

“Right,” Jongin replied and strolled over to the side of the deli where two sets of booths were set up and slipped into the one where a single sheet of paper sat like a fill in the blank pop quiz. It didn't take Jongin long to fill it out and he could tell this had been a rushed document, he could easily break out of it if he needed to. Looking around the deli, Jongin wondered how long before he would.

 

On the other side of the deli, there were two booths and four wooden tables each with three or four chairs around them made of metal with cracked orange and yellow leather cushions. There were quite a few decorations about, mostly fake plants, but they were at least tasteful and a customer could be distracted enough by them to take a seat in one of the torn chairs, but he didn't get a crystal vibe from it like the name suggested. The deli counter was clean at least, and the food looked good from where he could see it behind the glass, so maybe that was where most of the girl's money went to. Jongin stood when he felt he had waited long enough and brought the application to the counter. The clean counter that didn’t smell very clean. Like blood. Was she injured?

 

“Excuse me....um, I'm done.”

 

“Just leave it there,” the girl said, voice coming from somewhere below the counter.

 

Jongin peered over to see the girl with some kind of slicing machine, kneeling in front of it hacking at a whole pig with a plastic sheet laid out under her. “What are you doing?”

 

“Preparing a new filling for my sandwiches. I thought I'd try something cooked.”

 

“Why are you doing that on the floor? It's really unsanitary,” Jongin replied, eyes following the stream of blood that ran across the ripples in the plastic. He was glad the blood smell wasn’t coming from his new boss. His stomach growled though.

 

“I know it is, that’s why I’m doing it behind the counter. Besides, it was heavy. I couldn’t carry it all the way to the kitchen, so I brought the cutter down here.”

 

“How long has it been out? You don't want it to spoil.”

 

The girl cursed under her breath and stood. “If you think you can pick it up, then go put on an apron and help me. What am I paying you for?”

 

Jongin shrugged and did as told. There was a small closet sized room in the back with a couple aprons in black with the gold lettering the same as the sign outside. He hung his coat up and rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt. It wasn't until then that he had really considered what he should have worn. He couldn't remember actually ever looking at himself that morning. He'd just grabbed the first pants and shirt he found on the floor and combed his hair. On first days, he had come to understand, there was usually just paperwork and a little training. He should have worn practice clothing. Well, he had appeased his father by saying he'd gotten casted off the streets for a job and mentioning the women his father wanted to marry him off to. He could probably get a few new shirts out of that conversation.

 

“Woah, did you get dressed in the dark or something?” the girl asked when Jongin emerged and walked behind the counter. “The bottom of your shirt is buttoned to the top and one of your shoes are brown, not black.”

 

“So what if I did?” Jongin asked slipping the apron on and walked over to pick up the hunk of meat, making sure to put the gloves the girl had offered him on first. She directed him towards a fridge and they had a time trying to stuff it in there.

 

“Oh thank heavens it didn't spoil. I spent way too much on that cow,” the girl said.

 

“Cow?” Jongin asked. He would have thought a cow to be bigger or in smaller parts.

 

“Pig, whatever,” the girl said and pointed to a spot on Jongin's shirt. “You're covered in blood.”

 

Blood. Jongin stared at the spot on his shirt long and hard.

 

“Hey, Kim whatever, snap out of it and go change into a t-shirt from the back. You're going to be manning the register and making the sandwiches. You get basic pay Monday through Friday.”

 

“Jongin. And what about you? What are you going to do?” Jongin asked.

 

“All the behind the scene work of course,” the girl said.

 

Jongin made a face. “We're the same age, aren't we?”

 

The girl shrugged. “Probably.”

 

“What are you doing running a deli?”

 

Again, she shrugged. “I bought it off some old geezer a couple months back, needed something that made me sound successful but not pompous to get family off my back. It's not going great, that's why you're here.”

 

“That's why you hired me?” Jongin asked. “I really won't pay you back for those vegetables.”

 

“Whatever, I don't care about those anymore. I took care of that. I actually hired another guy, but he got into some trouble. I needed another guy to keep that trouble from coming here. If anyone asks, I hired you instead of him. They'll believe you because you're a lot more good looking than that guy was. Anymore questions?”

 

“Yeah, is your name actually Krystal?”

 

The girl tilted her head to the side. “No, but I'm changing it to Krystal so just go ahead and call me that. This place was named something weird, but sounded out, it sounded like Krystal. I only changed the name a little while ago. I want to revamp the whole place to have a witch vibe.”

 

“Okay,” Jongin replied. They felt like strangers. This was his boss now.  No, she just felt strange. She spoke with a halfhearted whatever happens happens tone. She was doing what she felt like. If she wanted to buy a deli, she did. If she wanted to hire some strange guy with a pretty face, she did. If she wanted to buy a whole pig and cut it up in the front of her deli even though it was twice her size, she did. Jongin kind of liked that. He grinned. “Alright, should we get the blood off the kitchen floor first then?”

 

Krystal grinned back. “You got it, briefcase boy.”

 

**$**

 

Jongin could count how many customers walked into Krystal Wiches on both his and Krystal's hands. He didn't even have to count how many had actually ordered Krystal's hack job of a pork sandwich she'd made from the carcass in the back. Krystal hadn’t been lying when she said most of her customers relied on her vegetables. Only people with a strict diet would venture into a new hole in the wall type deli. He'd insisted they throw the meat out after the first day, but Krystal argued there was still more meat that would go to waste. Instead, on the third day, Jongin just threw it out himself along with the other half of the pig. The smell had been getting to him. There was the stench of blood on his clothes every day he came home. The housekeeper said she couldn't smell it when he threw her his button ups, but it was strong to Jongin. He scrubbed himself hard, careful of the mark on his collarbone that still looked infected, but it didn't hurt. Sometimes it throbbed when Jongin caught himself staring at the blood on the very limited counter space in the kitchen. He tried not to worry about it, though. Krystal hadn't been pleased with him and so added a clause to his application. A uniform.

 

“He's so hot,” Jongin heard a couple girls giggling to themselves over in the corner of the deli. They had come in about an hour ago, bought one salad to share between them and two carbonated drinks. The salad had been forgotten fifteen minutes into their visit and instead they had just played on their phones and gossiped. Jongin felt this had been happening often especially after being forced to wear the button ups.

 

“I've gotten more customers, but they're not buying anymore than usual,” Krystal said coming out from the back. “Maybe I should have you shirtless instead, but that would get me shut down for an unsanitary eating environment for sure.”

 

“You already should be closed down for that. This is only the fourth day I've been here,” Jongin replied wiping the counter for the hundredth time that day. How had it even been clean on the first day, Jongin would never know.

 

Krystal sighed. “Close the store, would you. I need to think of something good to bring in more customers.”

 

“Renovations would be nice,” Jongin replied as he removed his apron and headed to the girls to ask them to leave for the day.

 

“I need revenue for renovations,” Krystal said and disappeared back into the back.

 

The girls were sad to leave, but Jongin managed to have everything cleaned up by their usual closing time. So far, Jongin had found the job too easy on his brain, but too annoying on his nerves. Not only did he man the front, but Krystal used him as her labor boy, too. But, Krystal assured she was getting more customers from his face. She must have only been getting three a day otherwise.

 

“I got it,” Krystal said poking her head out again. “You wear a tie and do up your hair like you did when I first saw you, all business like.”

 

“My hair?” Jongin turned to look at his reflection in the window only to frown. The lighting must have been bad. Jongin couldn't see himself. That was the reason he had been wearing his hair down lately. The shower mirror was always too foggy and well, he wouldn't put it past his father to have bought mechanical mirrors because they were definitely broken.

 

“Yeah, and I'll get a couple sweater dresses and some high heels. We'll take turns standing outside and handing out fliers. Sex appeal should help sell sandwiches, right?”

 

Jongin shrugged. He thought a bad initial investment was the real issue here. “Can I go home now?”

 

“Sure, but take this, I don't like leftovers.” Krystal handed him a bag with a assortment of the leftover counter products from the day.

 

“Thanks, but I'm not all that hungry. I've got plenty food at home.”

 

“Okay, but your stomach's been growling for like a week. Every time you come to the back and stare at my preparations, it growls.”

 

Jongin felt embarrassed. He wasn't hungry. Maybe...thirsty. He'd get a gallon of water when he got home and drown it. “Well, bye. I'll be back Monday.”

 

Krystal just waved him off and Jongin headed out and into the cold. He dropped the food bag off near a trashcan that he remembered seeing homeless people at sometimes when he was a punk high schooler. He wasn't sure if they still hung out there, but at least a dog might get a good lunch if not another human.

 

Jongin frowned at the thought of lunch. He hadn't actually been eating a lot lately, usually just vegetables from the counter when Krystal was out and no customers came in to stare at him, and he had been keeping his beef on the raw side. Maybe his tastes had gotten more pompous as well over the last couple years.

 

Jongin came to a stop at a crosswalk. He didn't feel much like going home tonight. He hadn't stopped by his studio in a while and he was afraid if he didn't, that nephew might sale it to someone else. He turned on his heels and continued down the sidewalk instead. His whole skin was crawling with goosebumps by the time he reached the next crosswalk. Was someone following him? Jongin took in a deep breath then coughed. There were too many smells. Sweat, snow, smoke, and a sweetness that stung like strong perfume. Jongin thought it was a familiar smell. Was it one of the girls that stopped by the deli? A stalker fan? They couldn't possibly know who is father was? He didn't need fans that wanted to be enterprise princesses.

 

With hurried steps, Jongin made his way to a line of taxis. He could walk to the studio apartment, but he needed to throw whoever it was off. If it was just up to him, Jongin would have faced the stalker, but he had a whole bank chain riding with him. He had his mother's dreams. He had his father's blood. None of it was his, so he couldn't blow it. He quickly gave the address of the studio to the driver then asked if he could take the long way around. The man seemed happy to and Jongin could only hope he had enough money on his card to pay for the ride as well as enough oxygen in his lungs. The man smelled horrific and Jongin's stomach was twisting in knots. He rolled down the window just a crack.

 

Perfume.

 

Jongin looked out into the crowds on the streets of Seoul then up. Something moved across the skyline then disappeared. He moved his gaze back to the people on the street and swore his eyes locked with another's through the dark film of the taxi window. He looked away and scrunched down in his seat.

 

“Can I run your card?” the taxi driver asked.

 

Jongin handed it over and was forced out ten minutes later. The perfume smell had disappeared five minutes before that.

 

**$**

 

Jongin stared at the ceiling of his room for a good hour. He wanted to go to the studio and dance, but his mother was entertaining on the first floor. She hadn't been pleased with Jongin's choice of a job and was probably getting those women downstairs to help her find a suitable job for Jongin. By next week, he'd be lining up interviews again and he could say goodbye to sleeping in, but the ladies should be leaving soon and Jongin's stomach was twisting in a hunger he had never felt before. A quick break to the kitchen should be safe enough. Maybe he could even sneak out the back way if he stayed there long enough.

 

Jongin made his way down the stairs in fitted jeans and a long sleeved graphic t-shirt. He could hear the laughter of older women coming from the livingroom to his right and made sure to stay quiet as he crept a few more feet to the kitchen. He frowned when he saw their housekeeper washing up and tried to be quiet going to the fridge.

 

“If you're coming down you should go say hi to your mother,” she greeted not turning around to look.

 

Jongin sighed, but opened the fridge to look inside. “I was hungry.”

 

“You had supper and seconds already, Kim Jongin. You're not a teenage boy, a couple more years and you're going to find that food doesn't burn off as easily,” the housekeeper said and turned off the faucet. “Besides, there's nothing cooked. I've made every morsel of meat in this house and your mother has all the sweets in the sitting room right now. I'm about to be off, I have no time to make you a snack.”

 

The housekeeper was right, there was nothing but eggs and milk and uncut vegetables in the fridge. Vegetables would have been fine, but Jongin didn't feel like that was what he needed to be filled. He closed the fridge door and looked around. His eyes landed on a few bottles of wine on one of the counters that the housekeeper liked to cook with. He stared at the red liquid for a few minutes, scrutinizing it, and felt his throat begin to itch.

 

“If you want alcohol, go for it, you're plenty old enough, but it'll be your mother that deals with you if you get drunk. I heard two young men had to drag your passed out butt to bed last week.”

 

Jongin looked away from the wine to the housekeeper at those words. At first, he intended to correct her or tell her it wasn't her business what he did outside of the house, but her skin was so pale, especially at her throat where he could see the blue and red veins running under translucent skin. She was quiet old. Her skin must have been like paper. Jongin's throat grew tighter and he licked his lips.

 

“Boy, I don't like that look you got. I'm a married woman, so don't try to seduce me just so I'll make you a snack.” The housekeeper turned away then and went to dry the dishes and put them away.

 

Jongin looked away and scratched at his throat. Maybe he could fill himself if he drank something. “I'm going out for bubble tea.”

 

“Don't tell me that, I'm not your mother.”

 

Jongin took the chance of going back into the hall and grabbed a jacket from the closet behind the stairs before running across the kitchen and out the back door. It sounded like the ladies were saying their goodbyes. Outside, he was careful not to step on any of the plants in the garden that surrounded their house. When he was finally free, he looked up at the sky. It was bright, but there wasn't a moon insight. A new moon.

 

Jongin started to cough. His throat felt dry and his stomach continued to twist. He hurried into the streets and started to look around. He could see everything and nothing at the same time. There was a pulsing, not from his heart, but from the bite on his collar. Was he coming down with something? Did it take this long for his wound to get this infected. For a moment, Jongin thought to go back home and run into his mother's arms and complain how sick he felt and maybe she would coddle him like she did when he was very very young. Instead, Jongin picked up a scent like little cakes and began to follow it. He found the gaggle of older women his mother had been entertaining waiting for their cars on the corner of the street. They were all very white, a few of them just as old as the housekeeper with veins showing. They all smelled of cake and powder. They all smelled like a grandmother would smell like, but Jongin had never known his. Once pregnant, his mother had been kicked out and his step-father was old. His real father's parents were retired somewhere in the country with a caregiver and from what Jongin understood, they had no interest in their son's bastard son. Jongin started to move towards the women.

 

“Oh, isn't that Yoora's son?”

 

“Is he returning home just now? She said he wasn't home.”

 

“He looks so handsome in casual clothes. Definitely has the looks of his father and we know what a lady charmer he was.”

 

Their words were soundless to Jongin. His eyes bore into their paper thin skin as he walked purposefully breathing the city air in deeply.

 

Perfume.

 

Jongin paused, his eyes widened. He crossed the road and hurried down a few more streets until he was in the shopping district close to his neighborhood. When the perfume smell still seemed to follow him, he turned down the nearest alley, heart racing. He felt scared. That smell from the day before, who was it?

 

“I'm too drunk to take care of you. Get off me.”

 

“Nooooo, Oppa stay here. Take me home with you.”

 

Jongin heard the slurred voices of a couple and stopped. His heart was racing and his breathing was harsh. There was adrenaline pumping in his blood, but he still felt that intense thirst. His stomach twisted hard and he gritted his teeth together, his tongue getting caught between his canines. Trickles of blood caressed his taste buds, spicy, but sweet.

 

Everything stopped.

 

“Hahahaha, Oppa, come back.”

 

Jongin's feet moved him towards the voice. A girl in a short dress, heels thrown to the side, sat against the wall of the alley. They were in the back of a club, a pretty poor one at that. She looked up at Jongin with glazed eyes. “Oh, you're not Oppa, but you look way better than him. Will you take me home?”

 

Jongin opened his mouth and the girl's face suddenly went from dazed happiness to horror. She started to get up, but Jongin was faster and he pinned her against the wall. Before he knew it, he had teeth sunk into her neck. It was like drinking a coke after running ten miles. It was too sticky, to bubbly, too much alcohol, but it was a drink and Jongin had been so thirsty. He gulped and licked and gulped and licked and the girl cried silently.

 

“Oppa, please,” she pleaded.

 

Her words were just background noise to Jongin, but he pulled away. The perfume smell was stronger and Jongin could hear the sound of heels clicking towards him. He wanted to run, but the girl was a crumpled mess on the alley ground. Her white neck was covered in blood and there were tears on her face, but she seemed strong, muscles running smooth in her arms and legs, even if she was drunk. It was just a bite.

 

The clicking grew louder.

 

Jongin's mind went blank. He ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are appreciated. ^.^


	4. Noli Me Tangere

**4. _Noli Me Tangere_**

 

    It was way too bright to be morning when Jongin woke up. Shiny blurriness met his eyes and he covered them with one arm until he could finally focus. He was in his studio, the curtains on the window wide open as well as the windows themselves. Jongin pulled a blanket around himself on instinct, but he didn't feel cold. He got up and moved to shut the window. As soon as the cold wind had stopped circulating the room, the tang of iron reached Jongin's nose. He turned to face the mirrors that lined one wall and stared. Nothing. It was like the mirror was looking right past him and Jongin stared harder and harder until, finally, his appearance fizzled in. He looked a mess. His hair was everywhere and his veins could be seen even through his natural tan skin. He leaned closer to the mirror and plucked a white strand from his hair. Was he really so stressed that his hair was turning white? Maybe it was someone else's hair. And there was something flaky on his lips. Jongin scratched at it. Dried blood?

 

Jongin dropped the sheet from around him and stared horrified. His shirt was covered in dried blood, the copper color flaky and gross on his clothes, one spot still red and wet. He touched it and stared horrified as his fingertips came back stained with the slippy darkening liquid. His throat started to itch at the sight and he quickly wiped the blood back on his shirt. Jongin looked around at the floor and his sheets. There wasn't any blood on them thankfully. It seemed he had just passed out on the floor next to his little nap set up. Actually, Jongin didn't even remember coming here last night. He remembered leaving the house to get bubble tea and seeing his mother's friends and...and...

 

Jongin scratched his head then felt his forehead. He didn't seem to have a fever, but maybe he should see a doctor anyways. The only logical explanation would be he was stressed to the point of being sick and this blood was his blood that he'd thrown up which really meant he should go to the doctor, but he felt perfectly fine, better than fine. Jongin looked back into the mirror. His veins weren’t as prominent now that he'd closed the window. It must have just been the cold air.

 

If it happened again, Jongin would worry about it, but for now, Jongin just pulled his shirt off and trashed it. He buttoned his jacket all the way up and went to the small bathroom in the studio to brush his teeth clean. They hurt around the canines so Jongin brushed harder. The mint of his toothpaste became acidic and bitter and Jongin finished, washing his mouth out as many times as it took to get the taste out. He felt around his teeth and pulled his finger out. A drop of blood popped up on the pad of his finger, the skin around it yellow and purple for a moment before going back to normal. Jongin licked the blood from his finger and looked up in the mirror. For a second, Jongin thought he had lost the whites of his eyes, irises blown with slanted dilated puplis like a cat’s, but no, his irises were still the same size, dark, almost black.

 

Jongin left the studio after checking that he hadn't gotten blood anywhere else, a wipe of his shoes and he was fine. He headed downstairs only to be called over to the front desk by the nephew.

 

“You haven't paid the rent,” the nephew said.

 

Jongin sighed. “That's already paid for, look at the contract.”

 

“That was when my aunt was the owner,” the nephew said.

 

“Isn't she still?”

 

The nephew gritted his teeth. “Technically.”

 

“Then there's nothing to discuss. I water the plants when they need to be,” Jongin replied.

 

“I have a gardener hired.”

 

Jongin shrugged. “No one told you to do that.”

 

“Why you...You're out of here the moment I get those papers transferred to me,” the nephew warned.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Jongin said, but his attention was elsewhere. The nephew had the television on behind him. The afternoon news was broadcasting. They had video of a taped off back alley. A girl had been murdered there, bleeding out and ripped to shreds, parts of her muscled firm legs and arms missing. Jongin felt sick.

 

“Hey...if you're hungover, get out of here and throw up somewhere else.”

 

Jongin looked at the nephew confused then waved him off and started out, grabbing a paper on the way. It was on the front covers, too. The girl's face, he knew it. Why did he know it? Flashes of the night before played in his memory. After seeing the old ladies, Jongin had smelled something. He'd run. He'd found this girl and...and...and...

 

Into a back alley, Jongin ran, and heaved. It was red. Blood. But it wasn't his blood was it? No. He'd bitten that girl, he'd attacked her.

 

He killed her.

 

Jongin's hands shook. He leaned against the wall and slid down holding his head between his hands. What had he done? Did he do it? They'd find him. They'd find that blood stained shirt in the studio, they'd find his saliva in her bite, they'd find the blood he'd just thrown up here. He was going to jail. His mother would hate him. He'd probably cause the whole bank to shut down with the bad publicity that would come out of it. Taemin and Wonsik would have to cut off all ties to him or risk losing their idol life. Pretty older Lu Han would never talk to him again. Jongin's chest grew tight and his eyes stung.

 

Why?

 

Jongin hid his head between his knees. It had been ten years since he'd cried.

 

**$**

 

Jongin stared out the window of the break room, slumped in a hard plastic chair with hands stuffed deep in his coat pockets. He felt tired, but he wasn't sure if he looked it, not only the mirrors, but the windows weren't working. He probably needed a new prescription, but Jongin hadn't used contacts in almost a week. He could see clearly. He could see better than clearly. And he could smell everything from the lingering of morning coffee to the cologne of the last intern that had walked in. If he concentrated, Jongin felt like he could almost smell every won in the vault two stories underground, too.

 

It worried Jongin. He wondered if this was how a murderer felt after a killing high. He hadn't sniffed any bath salts or taken drugs. Even as a teenager he never did any of that. That bartender must have had some kind of disease. A zombie disease? Jongin didn't believe in those kinds of things and he was pretty sure it wouldn't take so long to come into effect. Maybe he had just snapped. He had a second personality now that liked to rip women apart, it must be. Ignoring all the other weird things, Jongin decided that was the only logical explanation. He hoped his father would be willing to pay for a therapist, and a ward.

 

Jongin finally closed his eyes and took in a couple deep breaths. The air was cold as always, but Jongin couldn't feel it he only sensed it. He sensed heat as well, bodies moving around two floors down, warm and pumping with life. He felt someone coming down the hall towards the break room. They smelt sweet and grassy, like a green tea dessert. Their body heat wasn't as warm as others. It had a different glow. Jongin growled softly from deep in his belly, not a warning sound, he didn't feel threatened. He felt thirsty.

 

“Jongin, are you purring at me?”

 

Startled by the voice, Jongin turned to see Lu Han looking at him surprised in the doorway. Like green tea, Jongin thought that was definitely how Lu Han would smell. He reddened. Purring? Did lunatics purr? “N-no, I was groaning. Uh, hi, Lu Han.”

 

“Well, hello to you, too,” Lu Han greeted. He kept close to the wall as he made his way into the break room and stood at the counter after pouring himself a cup of juice from the mini-fridge. The action made Jongin frown. Usually the older intern would have no problem grabbing a seat across from Jongin. “I haven't seen you around.”

 

“I got in trouble with my father so I had to find the first job that would hire me. I'm working at a deli,” Jongin said. “It's just me and this really stupid girl.”

 

“Stupid girl?” Lu Han asked with a frown.

 

“Ah, well, free spirited. She's my boss so I guess I shouldn't call her stupid,” Jongin corrected.

 

“That's right. And I did hear about that. I'm surprised your father would settle for that kind of job,” Lu Han said.

 

“Well, I had to agree to meet a woman, too, but he's going to be too busy for a while to fix that up and my mother isn't happy with it,” Jongin replied. Lu Han wasn't looking at Jongin when he talked and Jongin had to wrack his brain to figure out why. “Oh, uh, sorry I didn't come see you dance Friday.”

 

“I didn't dance, I had a dinner meeting,” Lu Han said.

 

“Then Saturday, I know you make up your days on Saturdays,” Jongin said.

 

“How would you know something like that, Kim Jongin?”

 

“Because I'm your biggest fan.” Jongin grinned then. Lu Han looked up at him seeing it and looked away. Jongin's grin fell. Lu Han seemed sad. “I was ill over the weekend.”

 

“Yeah...uh, I saw you walking around Saturday,” Lu Han said.

 

Immediately, Jongin was gripped with fear. “I went out to get some air. It didn't help.”

 

“You did look kind of ill. Did you meet a woman maybe?”

 

He knew, didn't he? Jongin had been found out. Lu Han had found out he was a murderer. “I'm not interested in that kind of thing.”

 

“Y-yeah I know...yeah I know that.” Lu Han pushed himself off the counter and trashed his juice cup. “Your lessons should be starting soon.”

 

Lu Han walked back to the doorway. Jongin reached out for his hand, but Lu Han easily avoided the attempt to hold him back.

 

“Lu Han?” he called out.

 

“See you around...I guess,” Lu Han replied and didn't look back.

 

Jongin's stomach fell. Did Lu Han think he was straight and had been messing with him? Did he think he was a murderer and that they couldn't be friends? Did he think both? Only one of those would be right, but Jongin wasn't sure which was worse.

 

“Kim Jongin,” a woman's voice called a few minutes later.

 

Jongin stood and turned to see one of his father's secretaries in the doorway looking at her clipboard. When she looked up, her eyes widened and she looked away with a tinge of blush to her cheeks.“The...the lighter hair becomes you. It seems you finally got a job, you're becoming a man now,” the secretary said. Jongin didn’t really understand what she meant and stared at her. The secretaries never tried to small talk him. She seemed to catch herself and swerved down a different hall. “Your lessons have been prepared in one of the computer rooms.”

 

Jongin only spared her a raised brow before following her down the hallway.

 

Jongin wanted to make a more notifiable face, but he had already been told off about doing that when he first started lessons. Instead, he stopped and stared at his reflection, or lack thereof, until it appeared. His hair was lightening and he'd been pulling out white strands here and there. Looking closer, he didn't look tired though he felt it. The light natural tan he was born with seemed to...sparkle wasn't the right word. He'd read about dusting bodies in gold in college and he thought the glow on his skin might resemble that.

 

Though Jongin had never thought himself ugly, he had to admit he was even more handsome in that moment.

 

“Your father has been asking for potential match ups for you. It seems you will be engaged soon. She will be a lucky woman,” the secretary said with a sigh starting up the odd conversation again. .

 

“No she won't,” Jongin replied and stopped in front of the usual computer room. “I can take it from here.”

 

The secretary bowed her head, the first time she had ever since first meeting Jongin. “Yes, sir. Someone will come to retrieve you and grade your work in an hour.”

 

Sir, that was the first time she'd said that, too.

 

Jongin shut the door behind him and leaned against the frame. He wondered who would be the unlucky woman that would have to marry him if Jongin wasn't put in jail first. She'd be living a nightmare. Jongin could only think of one thing worse than his adulterous abusive father – a cold blooded murderer.

 

**$**

 

Living just around the corner from a fancy shopping street was the only upside to moving to his father's side house Jongin could think of. He slurped on a bubble tea as he rounded the corner and started down the street towards the house. He passed many gates with small townhouses like the one his mother was given. Small wasn't really the word for it, but compared to his father's mansion that he had been to a couple times, it was small. Being here five years, Jongin still couldn't tell you who his neighbors were. He knew some of their names simply because his mother mentioned them, but they weren't anyone his father had made him memorize nor were they idols Jongin knew. Taemin and Wonsik didn't know them either.

 

At the gate to his house, Jongin tapped in the code and waited for it to open then walked through. The front yard wasn't very big so the large bag of garbage set down haphazardly in the middle of the stone paved walkway was prominent. Jongin sighed and set his drink and the bag he had started carrying around in place of his old briefcase on the front porch grabbing the garbage himself and headed back outside where the bins were. He threw it in without much effort and instinctively wiped his hands on his pants though the bag was tightly sealed. He stopped before heading back in and looked up at the sky. Only a few days ago, the moon had been vacant from the sky, but now it was a crescent if only a sliver of one slowly gaining its reflective powers. A few days ago, Jongin had become a murderer, but he didn't think his future was as bright as the moon's. How long did he have? Certainly, someone was looking into the murder. Maybe they'd blame her boyfriend. Jongin didn't feel right letting someone else take his blame.

 

There was rustling in the trees by the gate opposite Jongin. He stared for a moment, but he felt like his senses were dulled. He had been drinking a lot and his stomach was full of water and deli meats. Jongin turned and headed back inside.

 

“Jongin,” a soft voice called appearing around the corner of the entrance.

 

Jongin sighed as he slipped off his shoes. “Yes, mother?”

 

A slim woman, barely showing her age, hair colored a light brown and done up in waves stood in front of him. She was more on the delicate side, petite with every feature small, but pretty. Jongin thought she use to look more tired as a young mother than she did now. She was getting a compensation amount from his father so she could afford creams and serums to help keep her youth. He couldn't really blame her for wanting to play around.

 

“Could you watch the house tonight? I'll be out until late,” she said and adjusted a diamond earring in her ear.

 

“Where's the housekeeper?” Jongin asked and looked his mother up and down. She was wearing a short dress he hadn't seen before and heals.

 

“She wasn't feeling well so I let her leave early. I couldn't afford getting sick tonight. I'm to meet a nice gentleman that wants to get a loan from your father,” she said.

 

Jongin frowned. “You're going to seduce a man so the bank can get a bigger compensation from him aren't you?”

 

Jongin's mother mirrored Jongin's look. “I'm not doing this for him, but if he wants to set up dates for me and still give me my compensation then I'll go on the date. My divorce to your step-father was finalized years ago and your real father can't afford to divorce Mrs. Kim, she has too much power. I'm a free woman, I'll do as I like.”

 

Free woman – Jongin didn't agree with that. She was trapped by Kim Eunjoon, had since she was only twenty. The most free she had been was when she was married to Jongin's step-father. He had never said any of this to her. His mother could be stubborn and selfish, but also ignorant to the point of ruin. He had realized that when she divorced his step-father.

 

“Be a sweetheart for once and help me put this necklace on,” his mother said holding up a necklace laced with diamonds.

 

Jongin took it and stepped behind her. His mother lifted her hair and Jongin slowly laid the precious stones on her collarbone and fought with the little clasps at her neck. She had a very long neck, very white. It was becoming paper thin like the housekeeper, but healthy in a way. His fingertips touched her neck. He could feel her pulse, slow, trusting. Jongin bit his lips and quickly fastened the necklace, stepping away.

 

“That took much too long. Is that deli job overworking you?” his mother asked turning around to look at him. “You do seem like you're not feeling well. How can you be exhausted from that sort of job?”

 

“I'm...just hungry,” Jongin replied.

 

His mother scrutinized him, but nodded. “Eat then, but you'll have to cook it yourself. I'll be going now.”

 

Jongin waved his mother off and rushed into the kitchen. He threw the fridge door opened and looked inside. Vegetables, fruits, rice, kimchi...he found it frozen in the freezer and groaned. There wasn't any thawed meat. He turned and stared at one of the cooking wines. Red liquid. He needed something. Jongin ran his tongue along his teeth before rushing toward the bottle and popped the cork starting to drown it, but immediately regretted it the moment the alcohol burned his throat. No, no, no.

 

Jongin slid to the floor, the bottle spilling across the tiles in a red mess. That wasn't the right red. It wasn't the right red. Necks, pictures of necks and collarbones flashed through Jongin's mind.

 

He had almost bit his own mother's neck.

 

He really was going crazy. Jongin lifted a hand to his face. A raging lunatic. There wasn't any other reasonable explanation. Something had snapped...or...

 

Jongin got up and rushed upstairs. He opened the laptop he use to carry around with him everywhere in college. He hadn't booted it for a least a month, but it came on after a few seconds and Jongin quickly typed in perhaps his most ridiculous search ever: Signs you're a vampire.

 

A million different searches popped up, mostly just quizzes or sites that knew it was all pretend. Jongin wanted to laugh as he scrolled through them, but he was scared. A lunatic or a vampire, which would be better? Jongin read through most of the websites, but what one said, another discredited. He stood up from the computer and went over to his bathroom mirror and stared. No reflection.

 

No reflection.

 

No reflection.

 

A flicker.

 

Jongin stared at himself. The mirror, it wasn't electric or some sort of trick. Even if the ones in his house were, the public bathrooms weren't and Krystal definitely couldn't afford that kind of mirror. There was still a thirst in his throat. Jongin lifted up his wrist and bit. A spicy iron taste filled his mouth and slowly coated his throat. He looked up and stared. White hair, he had more of it, anymore and he'd have to dye it or bleach it. The rest had lightened to a brown. His eyes, he could barely see the whites of them, mainly just dark dark irises with pupils that dilated like a cat's. Jongin removed his teeth from his arm. The bite marks, similar to the one on his collarbone, healed in mere seconds. Jongin looked up again in the mirror and opened his mouth wide. His canines were long, the top two way too long and curved a bit. He touched them and felt the tiniest of holes right in the back seeping something sticky. Venom?

 

That wasn't enough, Jongin needed more proof. He went to his room and dug out a necklace his step-father had given him when he was young. It was a cross made out of silver with a sharp edge on each corner. It didn't burn his hand when he touched it nor when he went to the sink and stabbed it through his left hand. It hurt and blood sprinkled the sink, but, the moment Jongin removed it, he healed. He licked the cross clean and stared at himself in the mirror until his eyes went back to normal and the thirst was just a small hunger in his stomach. He couldn't concentrate on his reflection and it faded out. Jongin sighed and touched the bite on his collarbone.

 

He was truly a monster.

 

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are appreciated.


	5. Carpe Vinum

**5. _Carpe Vinum_**

 

    “Here, take this.”

 

Jongin looked up from counting the change in the register when Krystal suddenly plopped a large cardboard box on the counter in front of him. “What's this?”

 

“I went shopping,” she said reaching back to pull her long hair out of its tie. He thought he saw a purple mark on her neck as the strands fell into place, but ignored it. He hadn't bothered to ask if she was dating someone nor did he care, but most Korean girls would have covered it up. One thing Jongin did know about Krystal, though, was she wasn't conservative.

 

“I see that, but for what?”

 

Krystal pulled out a box cutter from her jacket and slid it through the top in an X instead of pulling the tape off and punched her fist into it pulling it back out with a string of garlic. “Garlic?”

 

“Herbs,” Krystal corrected. “I said I wanted this place to look witchy. I bought a bunch of herbs. I figured we'd stick them in funny looking pots and jars on shelves everywhere.”

 

“But, garlic? You don't make your own sauces so we don't need garlic,” Jongin pointed out.

 

Krystal gestured to the door. “I'm going to spray paint them purple and hang them around like exotic fruits.”

 

Jongin looked at the door where a string of strange objects framed the doorway. “I thought those were fake decorations. That's garlic?”

 

“Yes. Doesn't it smell like garlic in here?”

 

Jongin shook his head. “All I smell is meat and blood when you decide to butcher something. Other than that, this place smells a lot better than it should.”

 

Krystal hummed then pushed the garlic into Jongin's arms. “Hold these while I go buy some jars. Oh, how much do you think little LED lights would cost? Like Christmas lights? You know, I'll just buy what I can with what's in my pocket.”

 

Jongin wanted to tell his boss she didn't have any money in her pocket, but she had left the store again before he could even open his mouth. He sighed and put the garlic back in the box and moved it behind the register with him. It had been a long day and Jongin had only been awake since noon. He'd come in late not sure if he was even coming in at all. Krystal hadn't been there yet, luckily, so he hadn't been caught, but he'd spent all night watching vampire movies and stabbing his arm in the sink. Honestly, his arm was sore and he had seen one bruise, but it was gone now. A lunatic wouldn't have super healing abilities, and even if he was a vampire, he was still a murderer, and he could still be a lunatic. A crazy murderous vampire, that was definitely worse than simply having gone crazy. But, what was he suppose to do about it? He hadn't heard anything in the news about the girl in the back of the club lately. It seemed the guy she was with wasn't her boyfriend and she hadn't gone with friends. Her family was from the countryside and she hadn't worked anywhere that was documented for over a month. They'd already rented her apartment out two nights before the murder. Jongin had never met the girl, but he had definitely picked the hardest person to track connections to to kill.

 

It still didn't feel right. Jongin didn't feel like a killer. He felt nervous and guilty, but she hadn't been dead when he left her. He bit her. The report hadn't mentioned anything about poisoning or anything that could come from poison. But, there were parts of that night Jongin still couldn't remember. He had been delirious. For all he knew, vampires might eat flesh as well, so he could have come back to finish her off.

 

“Are you open?”

 

Jongin looked up to see two men around his age poking their heads into the door. “Oh, yeah, come in.”

 

The two men entered. They were both tall and platinum blond and handsome. The tallest had ears that stuck out and large eyes. The other had the most perfectly triangular face shape Jongin had ever seen and looked about the deli as if this was the most bored he'd ever been.

 

“What can I get you?” Jongin asked and moved over to the deli line to start preparing sandwiches.

 

The tallest one beamed at Jongin. “Well, first off, how about a report on your well being.”

 

Jongin raised a brow. “What?”

 

“Chanyeol,” the shorter one said and gestured to Jongin.

 

“Oh, right, you don't remember us,” the taller one said. “We're the guys that dragged your passed out butt back to that fancy house of yours like...what was it, two weeks ago?”

 

Jongin's eyes widened then he looked away. These were the guys that brought him home? He could understand why his mother and the housekeeper had let them in without a second thought. “Oh. I'm really sorry about that I...I don't drink.”

 

“Yes, we know. Lee Taemin kept insisting that,” the shorter said.

 

The taller laughed. “Well, I'm Park Chanyeol.”

 

“Oh Sehun. I didn't think the friend of two idols would work in a deli,” the shorter one, Sehun said.

 

Jongin wouldn't either, but he shrugged. “My father insisted I get a job. This is the first one that hired me. I got into a fight.”

 

“We know that, too. With the bartender,” Chanyeol said with a bright smile.

 

Jongin's eyes widened. Right, the bartender. It was that new bartender that bit him. “Do you know where I can find that bartender?”

 

Chanyeol and Sehun gave each other a look then Sehun turned back to Jongin. “He's not a bartender anymore. Yixing's back at the bar.”

 

Yixing, that was the usual dimply bartender Jongin remembered. “Where is he?”

 

Sehun shrugged. “Can't tell you that.”

 

Can't tell, not won't tell. Jongin frowned and slipped on plastic gloves. “Thanks for the concern and all, but did you come in to buy something?”

 

“Yes, we're starving. You got something like a Philly Cheesesteak?” Chanyeol asked.

 

“It's not on the menu, but we've got grilled strips of cow and white cheese. That good enough?” Jongin asked. There were actually only four sandwiches listed on the menu, but about five more meats, plus salads he could make.

 

“That works, make it two,” Sehun said and started looking around.

 

Jongin made quick work of the sandwiches, not bothering to ask which vegetables they wanted, and bagged them. “Alright, that'll be seven thousand six hundred won.”

 

“A bit much for a sandwich,” Sehun said.

 

“It was a specialty,” Jongin replied.

 

Chanyeol pulled out a black card and handed it to Jongin. “Just slide it. He's in a bad mood today.”

 

Jongin took the card. He'd seen similar ones. His father and Mrs. Kim had them. His brother-in-law and sisters, too. Unlimited. These guys must be rich.

 

“You could probably buy this deli,” Sehun said. “Kim Eunjoon has enough money.”

 

Jongin stiffened. “He's a banker not a business owner. How do you know about that?”

 

“Your mother talks a lot,” Sehun said. “Also, a bank is a business.”

 

Jongin couldn't argue with that. Both points were solid. “And you guys?”

 

“We're just inheritors,” Chanyeol said. “Ah, I was wondering which band member your friend was dating. Sehun bet me a blow job which one it was.”

 

Jongin looked up surprised. “What friend?”

 

“Lee Taemin also talks too much,” Sehun said.

 

“Oh, don't worry, we're a couple so we're not going to ruin his love life,” Chanyeol assured.

 

Jongin handed them back their card and a receipt. “Well, I'm happy for you two, but that's for Taemin to tell you.”

 

Sehun shrugged and placed a hand on Chanyeol's waist to pull him away. “Come on, we've got a meeting.”

 

“Well, good seeing you're well. We'll see you again, soon, Kim Jongin,” Chanyeol said grabbing the sandwiches.

 

Jongin watched them walk away feeling more confused than before.

 

**$**

 

Maybe they were investigators, Jongin considered as he followed Taemin and Wonsik to their usual bar after work Friday. He had been avoiding his idol friends ever since that bite, but if Sehun and Chanyeol really were working for the law, this might be the last time Jongin got time to spend with his dearest friends. Also Jongin had to see for himself that the angry eyed bartender was no longer there.

 

“Are you going to drink today?” Wonsik asked as they took their usual spot.

 

“Maybe a little.”

 

“Are you feeling okay?” Taemin asked. “Are you wanting to drown your sorrows? Did the intern turn out to be straight?”

 

Jongin nudged Taemin as he sat. “I haven't asked him out yet, alright.”

 

“You still don't know if that crush of yours likes guys or not?” Wonsik asked scrolling through his phone. “How long has it been since you two met? Seven years? You gave him a cat for crying out loud.”

 

“I didn't give him a cat,” Jongin responded. “I found a cat and he adopted it. Besides, he was older than me when we met.”

 

“He's always going to be older than you,” Taemin pointed out.

 

“I was underage. You know what I mean.” Jongin stood and looked towards the bar. “Beer, soju, and chicken, right?”

 

“You got it, and if you're looking for the guy that wanted to have a threesome with you, he hasn't been here,” Wonsik said. “I think your mishap out back scared the new bartender off.”

 

His mishap? Jongin looked at his friends for a moment. They didn't know who it was that Jongin got into a fight with. But, Chanyeol and Sehun did. Did they know the bartender?

 

Jongin walked up to the bar and looked around. It seemed the usual bartender, Yixing, was in the back at the moment and his waiter for the night was off in a corner flirting with a college group or were those just multiple college groups? The bar did seem to be a lot more full than usual and Jongin never really paid attention to who the waiter was, but this guy called for attention, eyes lined with kohl, white hair fluffed up with a little gel, and wearing the same black and white shirt that Yixing always wore with black jeans. He seemed to be making everyone laugh. The waiter suddenly looked over at Jongin. He smirked and gave Jongin a once over that dragged across Jongin's frame before putting his attention back on the college students.

 

“He's got a boyfriend.”

 

Jongin jumped hearing the voice of the bartender and turned to see Yixing standing in front of him with a beer and a bottle of soju. “Oh, uh, I wasn't interested.”

 

Yixing shrugged and handed over the drinks. “You want an order of chicken as well, right? It'll take a while. Baekhyun's good at entertaining so he's been selling a lot of food and drinks for me tonight.”

 

“Did you have to get someone else? Where's that bartender from before?”

 

“Bartender?” Yixing asked.

 

Jongin eyed the bartender curiously. What other bartender was there? It was just Yixing up until the day Jongin was attacked. “Yeah, the guy that had really big eyes. You could see the whites in them. And he glared a lot. I know he was here.”

 

Yixing looked away. “Quit.”

 

The quick evasive response made Jongin frown. “Okay, do you know a Sehun and Chanyeol?”

 

Yixing pulled out a towel and started to wipe the counter. “Yeah, they come in here sometimes. They like to make friends.”

 

“This...Baekhyun...has he worked here before? I don't remember him being around,” Jongin said.

 

“He's an old friend that wanted a job and I needed another pair of hands,” Yixing said. “You could say he came back from a trip.”

 

“Oh, well, what about the other bartender? Do you have any of his information?”

 

“Can't get you that. It's confidential. Only a police warrant will get you that.”

 

Jongin gritted his teeth. “What if I said I got into a fight with him and I need his insurance information.”

 

“Then I definitely can't give it to you. You look well enough to me. He has a boyfriend by the way.”

 

“I already know that. What's the boyfriend's name?”

 

“Can't tell you that?”

 

“Number?”

 

“Can't get that for you either.”

 

Jongin lowered his head. “What can you get me? I need to find this guy.”

 

“I can get you something to drink. I'm just trying to be a good bartender. I've got no other objective than that and to go home and pass out until my boyfriend gets horny in the middle of the night.”

 

Jongin sighed defeated. “Wine. I'll take a glass of red wine.”

 

“That's not a good idea,” the bartender said.

 

Jongin glared at him, but Yixing only stared back steady and calm.

 

“Wine,” Jongin repeated.

 

Yixing just pulled out another shot glass. “I don’t have any. Just share a drink with your friends. The chicken will be out soon.”

 

Jongin took the cup and stomped over to his friends.

 

“You look pissed,” Taemin pointed out. “Did you try and get the bartender's number? Everyone knows he's got a boyfriend. We saw him once.”

 

Jongin waved his friend off and slid back into his seat. “Wonsik, open your suju and pour me a shot.”

 

“Will do,” Wonsik said and soon Jongin was staring at a tiny glass of suju.

 

“I hate alcohol,” Jongin whined before taking the shot. It burned, but it wasn't as bad as Jongin remembered alcohol being. Maybe being a vampire made it easier to take alcohol. “Another.”

 

“Wow, you have got to be more stressed than your college entrance exams to want another.” Wonsik poured him another...and another...and another.

 

Jongin stood when the chicken finally came. He felt warm and didn't want to sit any longer. Another shot and he'd lose his mind more than it took to actually believe he was a vampire. Plus, the sting of the alcohol made him thirsty. Jongin checked his watch. “I'm going to go catch Lu Han dance before the crowd gets too big.”

 

Wonsik and Taemin just waved him off and Jongin stumbled out of the bar. He felt eyes on him. He didn't know whose they were though. They didn't feel threatening, just watchful. Jongin was just thankful he made it to Lu Han's underpass without bumping into anything. Lu Han was already emerged into a dance, smiling, eyes twinkling, but something seemed to change the moment Jongin took up his spot in the back. Lu Han was aware of him and perhaps not in the way Jongin wanted him to be. He leaned against the concrete and watched for a while.

 

It had been a whole decade since the first time Jongin had watched Lu Han dance. Having a crush for that long seemed so pathetic, but they hadn't even talked until Jongin was a senior in high school and it wasn't like they could have really dated until Jongin was an adult with their four year age difference not that anyone would have noticed. Lu Han barely looked twenty-five better yet a year and a couple months away from thirty. Sleeping with older men for one night was a lot more easy to get away with than actually dating one when you were underage. But, there was the cat that they shared. Jongin was more of a dog person, but he didn't hate cats. He thought, once grown up, they were more like roommates that expected you to clean up after them than babies, but Jongin would have happily kept the cat had his mother allowed. He'd found it in his first year of college just before starting lessons at his father's company out in the rain trapped in a taped up box by a dumpster with a weird word written on it that Lu Han had told him was the wrong spelling for Schrödinger's cat when he had found out the dancer worked for his father and they had their first chat in the breakroom. The gray unamused cat had lived quietly in his room for a whole month before the housekeeper found it and his mother had yelled at him to get rid of it since his father hated animals. Graciously, Lu Han had offered to take the cat. He took good care of the cat minus the lack of a proper name.

 

Lu Han stopped the performance earlier than Jongin expected. He cleaned everything up as he thanked the onlookers for coming and chatted with other admirers. Jongin always waited until the end, but Lu Han kept looking over at him almost uneasy. Did he really know? He couldn't possibly know what Jongin was suspecting about himself, but Lu Han wouldn't be far from the mark whether it was true or all in Jongin's mind. He needed to make tonight the night, that was what the alcohol pumping in his blood told him and the itchy thirst in his throat. Jongin waved at Lu Han the next time the intern glanced his way. Lu Han waved back quickly and started talking to another group. Jongin pulled out his phone to check the time and when he looked up again only moments later, Lu Han was gone. Jongin looked around. Lu Han's space was clear. He must have been in a hurry. Dejected, he decided he'd buy a bottle of cheap wine and pass out in the studio.

 

**$**

 

It had been years since Jongin had bought alcohol. He left the nearest convenience store feeling like he'd been ripped off, but he had found a bottle of wine not as red or as rich as he would have liked. Jongin clutched it close to his body as he walked down the street, averting his eyes from people's faces and eventually, their necks. He could smell them, see their body heat without looking at them. He swallowed his spit to quench his thirst. Honestly, Jongin didn't think the wine would help, but he hoped it would knock him out if he drank the whole bottle along with the soju already in his system. He could feel himself itching to reach out and grab just any human that passed him.

 

Perfume.

 

Jongin popped his head up and looked around. His heart started racing and he hurried as he walked between the crowd of people on the streets. He knew this smell. Jongin didn't know why. Maybe it was his vampire side telling him he was going to get caught. A female detective wouldn't be surprising if they already knew who Jongin was. If she was pretty she could get information out of his father easily, and if she was less than homely, his mother would feel secure enough to be talked into a sense of ease. They had already sent a gay couple to talk to him. But, Jongin just wanted one more shot to ask Lu Han out. Even if he got turned down because Lu Han knew, somehow, that Jongin was a murderer, Jongin could go to prison without regrets.

 

It was easy, Jongin found, to avoid people, waving through them without knocking into anyone though he was already buzzed. He arrived at the studio quickly and didn't bother to look at the front desk as he took the stairs. He felt tired by the time he got to his floor, but not because of the twelve flight of stairs he had to climb. His heart had been pounding the whole time, but the minute he got inside his studio, he felt at ease. Jongin put the bottle of wine down by his sleeping area and went to the bathroom without bothering to turn on any lights. A couple splashes of water on his face and he felt a bit more sober, but no less thirsty. He lifted his head and stared at his reflection in the mirror. White, Jongin's hair was pure white. He wasn't sure when it had gotten like that and touched it softly. Jongin had never consider being blond and he didn't think it looked bad, but he would probably have to dye it back. He didn't think his father would take stress as a reason for his twenty-five year old son to suddenly get white hair in only one week. Jongin moved his hand to his mouth and pushed a finger in to feel his fangs. They were sticky with venom, he could taste the bitter tang on his tongue, and his eyes were mostly irises again.

 

He was so thirsty.

 

Jongin lifted his arm and bit into it over and over, licking the blood that spilled out. It wasn't helping this time. Jongin gripped the sink. A few bloody steaks probably would, but Jongin was afraid to go back outside. He was afraid to even leave the bathroom. If he opened one door, how many more would his unconscious open. He could feel where other people were, his neighbors. There were two occupied studios just on the same floor as him.

 

The wine. Maybe if Jongin took a few pills and emptied the bottle he'd pass out before he could do anything harmful to someone else. Jongin turned and walked out into the main area of his studio only to stop in his tracks. He didn't smell perfume, but there was a shadow behind the curtains of his studio window. They were blowing. Jongin hadn't left the window open nor had he opened it when he got to the studio just minutes before. Someone was there, he could almost feel them, but it was like they were cloaking themselves. Grassy and sweet.

 

Suddenly, someone jumped out at Jongin. He saw the glint of moonlight on metal in the wall of mirrors on one side of his apartment and dodged a knife attack. Jongin rolled and landed crouched in a corner. He hissed, the most horrifying and animalistic noise he had ever made. It was like a cat's, but low, much lower. Whoever attacked him came to a stop in front of Jongin, long silver daggers in both hands. They wore heels that seemed part of their tight leather pants with a ridiculous amount of loops and straps on them, a black trench coat, and a black corset like vest with a black blouse. Jongin couldn't see their face shrouded by the shadow from the pulled up hood of their trench coat. Jongin hissed again and the figure took a step back. That was when Jongin launched forward.

 

“Jongin, wait!”

 

Jongin felt his teeth sink into fabric, but mostly stopped by thick leather. His fangs went in deeper, but he couldn't taste any blood through the material. It didn’t soak in. There was a dagger dangerously close to his face and another one just within hands reach if the figure thought to pick it up. But, what made Jongin pull away was the figure's face. Jongin could see it when the hood fell back from impact, more beautiful under the moonlight than Jongin could ever imagine it. He sat up.

 

“Lu Han?” Jongin stared down at the leather clad Lu Han beneath him. His hair was more styled than he'd ever seen it and there was black kohl lining his eyes bringing out the bright deer like quality of them.

 

“Vampire,” Lu Han sighed and closed his eyes.

 

Jongin's heart sank. Lu Han knew. Lu Han knew! He hadn't even gotten to ask him out for coffee.

 

“Thank God you're a vampire,” Lu Han said and there was a tone of happiness to his voice. “I don't have to kill you now.”

 

Jongin furrowed his brows and stared down at Lu Han. “What?”

 

Lu Han finally looked at him. “Uh, well, I can explain, maybe. Can you get off me first?”

 

Jongin didn't really want to get off a sexy dangerous Lu Han, but he scooted off and stood taking a few precautionary steps back. “Why aren't you going to kill me?”

 

Lu Han raised a brow at Jongin, a beautiful doe brown brow. “Why aren't I? Not, why would I?”

 

“I...I killed someone. A week ago. Am I really a vampire?”

 

Lu Han stood and wiped himself off. He placed his dagger back in some pocket hidden in his trench coat before sighing. “Those guys are so slow to explain. It's all because Kyungsoo got sick after feeding from you.”

 

“You know Kyungsoo?” Jongin asked. “Can you tell me where he is?”

 

“Yes I can, but you can't go today. Kyungsoo's still unwell and Suho would have a fit if you showed up right now. I also know that Do Kyungsoo bit you. And I know you haven't killed a soul. Well, I know now you haven't,” Lu Han said.

 

“What do you mean I haven't killed someone? I saw the report. I read the paper.”

 

Lu Han stood up straight and crossed his arms. “Listen here, Kim Jongin, that woman that was murdered a couple weeks ago, she wasn't murdered by a vampire. She still had plenty of blood in her and the vampire poison had already started to take affect. Had she been left alone, you would have your very first apprentice. Vampires don't eat flesh, they drink blood. Have you been eating a lot of raw meats?”

 

Jongin nodded.

 

“And they make your stomach hurt, but you're still thirsty?” Lu Han guessed.

 

Jongin nodded again.

 

“You don't need that much solid food, it's the blood you need. We did find your DNA on the woman. Your actual bite had been ripped out, but there was traces of venom. She died of the shock from whoever ate her. They chewed through her spine and skull. If the brain can't tell the venom what to do then the shock on her body will make it give out. You're not a murderer,” Lu Han said.

 

Jongin slumped to his knees. He wasn't a murderer. He hadn't killed that girl. “But, I'm a vampire?”

 

“Yes, that is one hundred percent confirmed. Usually, it would take a whole year for the signs to show up, but the blood thirst starts immediately. I did notice your hair lightening. The others didn't seem to think Kyungsoo's venom would have worked on you. They said you had a weird reaction when they found you. I attacked you to make sure. I...I couldn't believe you were a monster. I was just going to kill you myself if you were. This isn’t the only attack like this we’ve had, but the first one in the city,” Lu Han explained.

 

A vampire. Jongin's ten year crush had just confirmed Jongin was indeed a vampire. But, not a murderer. This was crazy. Jongin looked at Lu Han. Looked him up and down. He looked so good, but why did he look this way. Jongin had only seen Lu Han in clothes comfortable for street dancing and suits and Jongin had thought the suits were something.

 

“Who are these ‘we’ and ‘they’ you keep talking about?” Jongin asked.

 

Lu Han took a couple steps forwards. “Well, 'they' are Suho's group. They're the local group of vampires and the largest most predominant in South Korea. And 'we' is my group.”

 

“Is your group vampires, too?” Jongin asked and watched Lu Han stride towards him.

 

“Not exactly.” Lu Han picked up the bottle of wine Jongin had left by his makeshift bed and popped it open. He moved it to his lips and guzzled a good eighth of it then held it under one arm. Lu Han then proceeded to remove one leather glove, long and laced up, from the arm Jongin had bitten into. Immediately, the grassy sweet smell Jongin had realized was Lu Han's own filled his nostrils mixed with the rusty smell of blood. The wound wasn't bad, but still opened. He held his arm over the opened wine bottle and let the blood drop into the bottle one precious drop at a time until the wound finally closed then knelt no more than a foot from Jongin. He held the bottle of wine out to Jongin. Jongin’s heart beat increased with excitement and he took the bottle quickly, guzzling down the blood infused wine.

 

“You could say we’re Monster Hunters.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated.


	6. Nil Mortalibus Ardui Est

**6. _Nil Mortalibus Ardui Est_**

 

    Come Monday morning, Jongin understood why Yixing hadn't wanted to give him wine. Jongin had never slept so much in his life. It had taken him thirty minutes to convince himself to use the bathroom every time and he hadn't bothered coming home for dinner. He felt groggy and like floating in a dream with the sweet taste of Lu Han's blood on his tongue. Lu Han's blood. All that leather hadn't let Jongin taste it when he bit Lu Han, but the few drops in the wine bottle had been enough to sedate Jongin's thirst and though the whole weekend had gone in a blur, Jongin was more than aware when he woke up bright and early Monday. The first thing he recalled was Lu Han beneath him in all that leather and black. The second thing Jongin remembered was he'd had his teeth sunk deep enough into Lu Han's arm for it to bleed. Was he okay?

 

From what Jongin understood of the night Lu Han had attacked him, he was indeed a vampire but not at all a killer. Lu Han hadn't seemed worried about getting bitten by him, though he had said the girl Jongin had attacked would have become a vampire. He must not have drained her enough to kill her. But, someone had killed her. Something. And Lu Han had thought Jongin was that something. But, that something wasn't a vampire. Besides vampires and whatever Lu Han was, what was there?

 

And what was Lu Han?

 

Sexy, beautiful, strong, and not human. Jongin still found himself attracted to Lu Han, perhaps even more, he couldn't deny that a bit of mystery was endearing, but he felt betrayed. He'd known of Lu Han's existence for a decade, a decade in which he hadn't aged one bit. It was not as if they had been very close throughout those years. Mostly, it was just Jongin watching over Lu Han. He honestly knew very little about Lu Han other than what he could find on his resume and what he had heard on the streets when he had only known Lu Han as a street performer.

 

But, Jongin was relieved. There wasn't someone looking to throw him in prison. Well, Lu Han had initially attacked to kill, but it turned out he didn't have to.

 

It wasn't until Jongin had clambered home in the morning to get a change of clothes that he realized his hair had gone from blonde to platinum. Was this what all vampires looked like? He had always pictured them with dark hair and pale skin. Jongin did think he looked a couple shades lighter, but still dusted with gold. He looked at his bite mark. It still looked the same. He didn't think it would heal. Jongin slipped on his expensive coat and some sunglasses and headed to work.

 

Krystal Wiches' front door was locked when Jongin arrived. Jongin preferred it that way, but more often than not, he found the deli opened when he came in to work either because Krystal had already been there or because she had forgotten to lock up from the weekend. He pulled out his keys and used the spare Krystal had given him to come inside. There was smell of deli meats as always, but there was another smell, very faint, that made Jongin's eye twitch the closer Jongin got to the back. It was hard to make out though. It seemed Krystal had hung up more spices and especially more garlic around the place in order to give it more of a witch hut vibe which made even the meat smell hard to sense. Jongin paused before opening the backroom door. He could hear something, a muffled groaning. Krystal? Was she okay? That sounded like a man though. He could sense two bodies inside. Jongin immediately opened the door. If it was a robber with a weapon, Jongin could only hope his vampire powers gave him immunity to gun bullets or knife stabs. If it was a rapist, Jongin would give this prick a blow job like no other with very sharp and very poisonous teeth.

 

Jongin had been ready to bite the man for what he saw if it  wasn't for the fact Krystal was playing on her phone peacefully while a man in his late forties had her on her back on one of the tables butt naked plowing into her with disgusting grunts muffled around one of her nipples he was tonguing. She must have caught sight of Jongin in the reflection of her phone as she quickly typed a message big enough that Jongin could see: You're Early. Jongin immediately shut the door and rushed back into the main area of the deli. He felt embarrassed, ashamed? Jongin wasn't sure. It wasn't his first time watching someone fuck someone else knowing either of them. His delinquent group knew some promiscuous older women and girls who thought it would make fun stories to say they banged a whole gang. He was ashamed to say he had been a part of a couple of those, but that was the only way he had come to realize he only got off on it because his male friends were getting off, too.

 

On the counter by the register was a stack of freshly printed fliers with a new design for the deli. Jongin picked them up and walked outside to start handing them out until Krystal was done. It was another thirty minutes before the man came out carrying a suitcase with a stack of documents in one hand. Krystal came out a few minutes later wearing a black sweater dress and heels like she had promised to wear in order to get more young customers in. Jongin couldn't look at her straight. He had never harnessed a desire to see his boss naked.

 

“Why is your hair white?” she asked.

 

Jongin touched his hair. It was going to take him a while to get use to it. “Stress.”

 

Krystal clicked her tongue. “Yeah right, you're like the same age as me and I don't have white hair.”

 

Jongin just shrugged and moved past her into the deli.

 

“Why'd you come early?”

 

Jongin headed to the back then stopped and gestured Krystal in that direction. “I woke up early. Can you get my apron?”

 

Krystal went in the back and came back out with empty hands. “Work without it. I have to take laundry out today.”

 

Jongin made a face and went to the kitchen to start preparing. For a while it was silent in the deli until he felt Krystal come to stand in the doorway.

 

“So, you're not going to say anything?” she asked.

 

“I need to come in late tomorrow. I have a lesson that got rescheduled for twelve so I can't come in until two,” Jongin said.

 

“I'm fine with that, just stay an hour later today. But, you know what I mean. So?”

 

Jongin turned balancing a few different containers of vegetables and meats and cheeses on his arms and in his hands. He didn't respond until each of them were in their proper spots. “I don't think you should be doing that kind of thing—”

 

“Well, it's not really any of your business what I do, it's my business. Literally, this is my business, and that's my personal business. I can do what I want with my own body and it's not a big deal to me. Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I can't be free with my own body. Really, Kim Jongin, I didn't think you were that kind of guy,” Krystal ranted on before Jongin could finish his sentence.

 

Jongin raised a brow at his boss. “...in this kind of place. Did you prepare a whole speech or something? Why are you so nervous, I can almost hear your heart beating out of your chest.”

 

Krystal's eyes widened and she covered her chest with her arms as if to hide her heart from Jongin before shifting her stance and crossing her arms normally. “Yeah, well, I don't take well to people questioning my life choices.”

 

“I wasn't questioning them. I don't think you should do that in the deli. What if a customer had walked in? You could barely smell it, but that groaning the guy was doing is really suspicious.”

 

Krystal straightened up. “You could smell it?”

 

Jongin rolled his eyes at her. “It's unsanitary and you can get closed down if someone finds out. Just like with cutting that pig up in the front. There's lots of regulations you have to go through to keep a business up, even more if it's a food business. I honestly don't give a shit who you fuck.” Jongin scrunched up his face remembering what it looked like to watch his boss get fucked. “Neither did I want to know what it looked like. That was honestly disgusting.”

 

Krystal's face reddened. “I...it wasn't like I like him or anything. I was getting a loan.”

 

“A loan?” Jongin questioned. The guy did look like a businessman.

 

“My credit is bad and I don't like having things documented. I asked if I could make the payments sex and have him do all the paperwork in his name. He handed me the money and every month, we'll have sex.” Krystal shrugged her shoulders as if it wasn't a big deal. “I haven't been a virgin for a long time so I'm okay with using sex to get me stuff. I needed to renovate this place.”

 

Jongin nodded. Krystal was a lot more to handle than he originally thought. “Whatever floats your boat. Just do it somewhere else next time. What if you'd left the door opened?”

 

Krystal shrugged. “They’d get a dinner and a show.”

 

Jongin chuckled at that. “Just please clean up the backroom.”

 

“Got it, you man the counter and I'll do some clean up.” Krystal smiled and hurried to the back.

 

Jongin could only sigh. He didn't think he could take many more surprises.

 

**$**

 

It was a rush to the Kim Eun Bank the next day. Jongin had felt the thirst hit as soon as he woke up in the morning. Lu Han's blood had managed to last him a few days, but he didn't know how to go about getting it for himself. There was an expensive restaurant thirty minutes from the bank that sold raw dishes and Jongin had hurried there, begged for a takeout version even using his father's name, before rushing back. He barely got to a break room with enough time to eat the meat. The actual meal was disappointing. He'd gotten the raw chicken meal, but looking at it, Jongin realized it was cleaned of blood and something told him the thirty minute rush back to the bank had done nothing good for the chicken. He hadn't mentioned to the cooks how long it would take him to come back to the bank with it. Jongin suddenly felt a presence coming down the hall and sniffed the air much like a dog.

 

Green tea.

 

Lu Han.

 

The Chinese intern walked into the room and jumped seeing Jongin there.

 

“Jongin.”

 

Jongin felt a bit strange seeing Lu Han for the first time since the night he had attacked him. He was in a blazer and slacks as usual, but he wore a turtleneck instead of a button up which made Jongin frown. He wanted to see Lu Han's neck, maybe bite it. “Lu Han.”

 

Lu Han looked around then sighed when his eyes landed on Jongin's chicken. “I said you didn't have to eat raw meat, didn't I?”

 

“I was hungry,” Jongin replied.

 

“You were thirsty and this has been out too long.” Lu Han reached out and took the meal, wrapping it up before trashing it. “You should be fine for a couple more days before you start thinking about attacking someone. I'm surprised you didn't attack more than that girl. It must be because it's not close to a new moon.”

 

“New moon?” Jongin asked.

 

Lu Han looked around before finally taking a seat across from Jongin. “How much do you know about being a vampire?”

 

Jongin thought for a moment about that, honestly he only assumed things, but none of it was confirmed. Even his own vampirism, Jongin hadn't been sure of until Lu Han told him. “I have to drink blood.”

 

Lu Han sighed. “So nothing. No one's come to talk to you yet? I guess not. We weren't sure if you were a vampire after all.”

 

“You are now, though?” Jongin asked.

 

“Don't worry, I already put it out you're not a suspect. Actually, you should be pretty angry. That girl, if they had waited any longer to attack her, you would have felt it. She would have been your blood.”

 

“I don't really remember anything after I bit her. I honestly thought I was the one that killed her,” Jongin said.

 

“Maybe you did feel it then,” Lu Han mused. “Well, shall I give you the rundown.”

 

Jongin sighed. “I would love for someone to actually explain everything to me. Also, tell me what you did to me the other night.”

 

Lu Han laughed. It was so cute. Jongin grinned, too. He liked having Lu Han comfortable around him again.

 

“I didn't do anything to you. Did you drink at Yixing's bar?”

 

Jongin nodded.

 

“Yixing only serves alcohol with chemicals that prevent delirium in vampires. Vampires aren't that great with alcohol. That girl you drank from had been drinking that was probably why you were so disoriented right after as well. It doesn't hurt you or make your more vulnerable. But, if you’re already at your limit, it will aid you in bad decision making, like biting someone, but it also makes you more vulnerable to sunlight. Wine is the worse, grapes tend to overwrite the chemical yixing uses. I was keeping a sedative in my mouth. I slipped that into the wine and added some blood just to keep you immobile for the weekend. I needed to get some stuff done,” Lu Han explained.

 

“You gave me sleeping pills? I don't know how I feel about that.”

 

“Well, drugs don’t work really well on vampires. I gave you the strongest we have. You should have been on and off for a week. We use it on monsters we don't want to kill...right away at least.”

 

Jongin made a face. He couldn't really imagine Lu Han killing someone or something. Well, maybe in the leather get up he could but not in a fuzzy turtleneck. “So the sun thing is real?”

 

“Yes, you are sensitive to sunlight. It doesn't burn you, you're just not as strong or fast. And you should wear sunglasses until the sun goes down. If you wear contacts you're fine for now, but usually six months into it you won't need them. And moonlight counts because it's just reflected sunlight. Vampires are strongest on new moons.”

 

“What do you mean by strong?” Jongin asked. “What kind of powers do I have exactly.”

 

“Strength, speed, uh, allure,” Lu Han explained. “You've become a hunter, Jongin. I'm sure you've noticed you can sense things better as well.”

 

Jongin had noticed the senses. “Allure?”

 

Lu Han looked away at that. “Well, you should be able to convince people more easily. They'll be more willing to listen to you.”

 

“Basically I'm more attractive,” Jongin said.

 

“Yes, that would be the easiest way of summing it up.”

 

“And the white hair?” Jongin asked.

 

“That's not going away. You loose pigment. That's one of the reasons you drink blood. However, you lost your hair pigment fairly quickly, but your skin pigment...you've already got the glow so I think that's as light as you are going to get. That's good.”

 

“Good?” Jongin asked. “And why is that?”

 

“That's...” Lu Han said and cleared his voice when it seemed hard to find the right words.

 

Jongin grinned. “I've been told it's a sexy color, is that why?”

 

Lu Han straightened up. “It's very becoming of you. And you wouldn't want to loose something that's a part of you. You can always dye the hair, but it will fade after a week. Dye doesn't stick for very long on vampire hair.”

 

“Ah, I should have dyed it last night. That man's going to be angry with it.” Jongin had wondered what he should do about meeting his father looking like this.

 

“You'll just have to impress him then,” Lu Han said and he wore an encouraging smile.

 

“Don't know how I'll do that.”

 

Lu Han suddenly reached across the table and grabbed Jongin's hands. He held them tight in his. “Jongin, this isn't a bad thing. Becoming a vampire, it'll open a lot of doors for you. It might seem like a burden at first, but I think this will be a gift for you.”

 

Jongin eyed Lu Han. “How? How can you say something like that?”

 

Lu Han's eyes were steady when he caught Jongin's gaze. There seemed to be ages and ages of wisdom in them and Jongin, for the first time, wondered how old Lu Han really was.

 

“I know what it's like to be a vampire,” Lu Han said.

 

Jongin switched their hand position and grabbed onto Lu Han's wrists. He traced his thumb on the one arm that he had bit and squeezed. Lu Han didn't flinch. Was the bite already healed? “How do you know? What about the bite? I bit you, Lu Han. Are you alright?”

 

Lu Han tried to pull away, but Jongin wouldn't let him. “I'm immune to vampire venom. Your bite didn't even hurt.”

 

“What is a Monster Hunter, Lu Han?”

 

Lu Han bit his lip. Jongin noticed that his canines were slightly longer than normal people, not as long as Jongin's had grown nor as sharp. He hadn’t paid much attention to Lu Han’s teeth before though he’d often admired the other’s lips.

 

“I'm an ex-vampire,” Lu Han admitted. “I don't need to drink blood to stay alive and the sun doesn't affect me, but I'm not as strong nor as fast as a vampire. However, I won't age. I'm an immortal.”

 

**$**

 

Jongin juggled his coat and the deli keys in one hand and closed the door to Krystal Wiches with the other. Krystal had gone out over an hour ago and told him to lock up if she hadn't returned by the time he was suppose to leave for the day. He could see his breath as he fumbled with the keys and locked the door. Though Jongin couldn't particularly feel the cold (a perk of being a vampire Lu Han had told him about), his body still responded with shivers and Jongin could only hope his immunity to weather got better before summer came. Jongin didn't want to put literal blood and sweat into his work. It was just as Jongin began to shrug his coat on that he felt the presence of the other two. They felt familiar, though their smell had been very faint in the deli the other day, like someone having expensive wine and cheese far off with cherry wood smoking in their fireplace. Jongin didn't think to trust them and reached out a hand back to the deli door.

 

“If you're done for the day, how about you come with us, Kim Jongin?” one of the figures spoke.

 

Jongin removed his hand from the door handle and instead adjusted his hood before turning and facing the two figures. Chanyeol and Sehun from the other day stood in front of Jongin with heavy black expensive coats already frosted with the drizzling snow. Chanyeol was smiling brightly awaiting Jongin's reply. Sehun stared inside the deli.

 

“Um, no,” Jongin replied. “If you'll excuse me.” Jongin started to take a step back, but suddenly felt a hand on his back, no, nails, sharp nails poking between his shoulder blades. “What are you doing?”

 

“Sehun, we're not here to threaten him,” Chanyeol, the taller of the two, scolded his...boyfriend, as Jongin remembered.

 

The shorter of the two tall figures removed his nails from Jongin's back and sighed. Jongin wasn't sure how he had gotten behind him so fast “I told you he wouldn't come with us if we asked. We should just make him.”

 

“He will if I mention Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol said.

 

Jongin furrowed his brows. Kyungsoo. The guy that fucking bit him.

 

“Oh, see he's interested now,” Chanyeol said.

 

Sehun moved from behind Jongin and took his place back beside Chanyeol. “Do Kyungsoo, your sire.”

 

Sire? Jongin's eyes widened. “Where is he?”

 

“So you will come with us then?” Chanyeol asked. “We actually aren't suppose to bring you, but we heard you got the all clear from Hunter Lu Han.”

 

“You know Lu Han?” Jongin asked.

 

“In a sense, we're friends,” Sehun said and whipped out a phone. “Shall I call him for confirmation?”

 

“No, no, I'll go,” Jongin said. He had a feeling that Lu Han would tell him not to if it was even true that Chanyeol and Sehun knew this Kyungsoo, but he followed them anyways into a private black car.

 

“We're vampires, by the way,” Chanyeol said as they sat in the back with an unknown driver in the front.

 

“We came by the other day to get our own assessment before Lu Han killed you,” Sehun added. “Looks like he chose to feed you instead.”

 

Jongin looked away. The mention of Lu Han's blood made him feel warm and his fangs felt stickier.

 

“Ooh, did it taste good?” Chanyeol asked. “Hunter blood is really good, supposedly which doesn't make sense since they're ex-vampires and vampire blood really doesn't hold up for very long. And if you drink too much it'll make you sick.”

 

Jongin stared down at his arms. So that was why he could never be satisfied with his own blood.

 

“Drinking your own blood, huh, so that's how you kept yourself from going berserk. Honestly, if you had bitten a bunch of people, we would have been able to clear you faster, but then we would have ended up with a handful more vampire newbies and that's never good,” Chanyeol yammered. “But, don't worry, the hunters don't hunt vampires. We've been their allies for years, well, considering we've been them for years as well.”

 

“You're going to confuse him if you keep rambling like that, Chanyeol,” Sehun said.

 

“Sorry, sorry, but there really is a lot to say. I'll let Kyungsoo explain some stuff, too, since he's the one that bit you.”

 

Jongin only nodded and turned his head to stare out of the dark tinted windows of the black car. They were headed past the business district where Jongin's father's bank was along with other big shot companies and a few government run sanctums and into the housing of condos and apartments that said company owners and families lived in. They stopped in front of a condominium Jongin had never dreamed to step into. His father was not a single man and had a family run home. His eldest sister lived in her own apartment close to her company and his other sister had only moved out three years before to live in a small honeymoon style apartment with her husband. These were homes for very rich and very unmarried men and women. Jongin followed Sehun and Chanyeol inside. They rode all the way up the elevator to the very top floor of condos.

 

“Suho's not going to be very happy about this,” Chanyeol said as they walked out. “He wanted to be the one to have them meet.”

 

“That'll take him months. He still thinks Kyungsoo's unwell and you know he'll baby Kyungsoo as long as Kyungsoo allows,” Sehun said. “Besides, Kyungsoo's fine. Suho's been chalking him up full of blood the past couple weeks and is only allowing him to eat vegetables. He'll be glad for a reason to cook his own food.”

 

“Who is Suho?” Jongin asked as they came to the door just before the last door in the hallway. Lu Han had mentioned the name before.

 

“Oh, our leader,” Chanyeol said and opened the door.

 

The apartment inside was dark, but modern. The floor plan of the condo had many halls and many archways instead of doors. When they reached one archway covered by thin layers of dark fabric, they stopped and Chanyeol moved ahead.

 

“Kyungsoo, wakey wakey our dark prince of anger and rage. We've brought you a new friend,” Chanyeol sing songed as he went to retrieve this Kyungsoo.

 

“I'm not hungry. Tell Junmyeon he's going to make me fat if he brings me one more feeder,” a familiar and grumpy voice said from the darkness.

 

“I'm afraid you can't feed from this one. Well, you actually already have, but you know what happened then,” Chanyeol said.

 

There was silence and then a blur came rushing at Jongin. Immediately, Jongin took a couple steps back and hissed. The blur stopped in front of him and hissed back. They're hair wasn't white, but the dark almost black he had had lightened a few shades since the night they had met and Do Kyungsoo was definitely paler. His irises had filled up the usual large expanse of white in his eyes and he bared sharp fangs. Jongin bared his back and could feel a sting in his fingertips as his nails suddenly grew into sharp claws..

 

“Woah there, Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol said coming out after and grabbed the shorter grumpy vampire around his waist.

 

Kyungsoo glared at Jongin and Jongin glared back. “This is him? This is the guy that jumped me and made me sick? He's a vampire.”

 

“Yes, yes he is,” Sehun said.

 

“Jumped him?” Jongin asked. “He jumped me. I passed out because he couldn’t keep his fangs to himself.”

 

Kyungsoo hissed and tried to get at Jongin again, but Chanyeol held him still. “He doesn’t even remember clawing my face up after passing out.”

 

“You are well aware people react differently to the bite. It was just a fight or flight response. Jongin is a fast taker, as you can tell, ” Sehun pointed out. “It would seem his blood just didn't agree with you, that or whatever human food you consumed that day is what made you sick.”

 

Hearing that, the grumpy Kyungsoo seemed to calm down, irises going back to normal showing the white rich of his eyes under his angry eyelids. Jongin remembered that look. He remembered other looks as well. He remembered it was this guy right here who had made him believe he had become a monster. He was a monster. Do Kyungsoo had made him a monster.

 

“You,” Jongin growled then started forward and before the others had a chance to react, Jongin reared a fist back and smashed it into Do Kyungsoo's face.

 

Kyungsoo crumbled in Chanyeol's arms and Sehun rushed forward to wipe the blood that glistened on the corner of Kyungsoo's lip.

 

“You punched him!” Chanyeol yelled. “Suho's really going to be mad now.”

 

“Who cares if your leader is angry. I'm angry. This bastard...he...he...” Jongin could barely talk he was so angry and frustrated. Everything had been so unfair recently, no since forever ago, but this guy in front of him just had to go and add the supernatural to all the other screwed up things in his life.

 

“Good thing he's still at the bank,” Sehun said. “You'll have to meet him eventually. We would have preferred it if he was neutral with you at the very least when you did.”

 

“That kid...someone get that kid out of here,” Kyungsoo murmured from under the napkin Sehun dabbed his face with. “And both of you get off me. I get babied enough by Junmyeon and I'm his lover not some prince.”

 

Both tall vampires backed off the shorter man and he went back to glaring at Jongin who was seething with frustration and glared right back.

 

“Take him to Kim Ho Bank,” Kyungsoo growled.

 

Jongin suddenly straightened up and looked alarmed. “What, why? Why Kim Ho. Not Kim Eun?”

 

Kyungsoo grinned evilly. “Oh, you're that Kim Jongin.”

 

Sehun sighed. “Suho is known as Kim Junmyeon as of right now.”

 

“As in the CEO of Kim Ho Bank,” Chanyeol added.

 

Jongin felt his blood go cold. He'd just punched the lover of Kim Ho Bank's CEO, the rival of his dad's bank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated.


	7. Ignoratio Elenchi

**7. _Ignoratio Elenchi_**

 

    Jongin wanted to run. He had followed Sehun and Chanyeol back to the car and now he was on the other side of the neighborhood in front of Kim Ho Bank. Both Chanyeol and Sehun were standing guard outside of the car while the unnamed driver stayed in his spot. They had come to pick up the CEO himself and here Jongin was, the bastard son of the man who took Kim Ho's number one spot twenty years ago, waiting for him. At least the tall lovers had enough brains to not let Jongin out. At this time of night, who knew how many reporters were hanging about. Well, Jongin could count at least one in the bushes close by, and he could feel other eyes watching him but he wasn't sure from how far away. There would be rumors spread if Jongin was caught meeting with Kim Junmyeon privately.

 

After what seemed like an hour, the doors to the bank opened and out came three bodyguards followed by a man dressed in all black with a mask, sunglasses, a hat, and gloves. It was reported that the CEO had a weakness to sunlight and fell ill easily. Jongin could believe it now since he was actually the leader of a vampire sect and with how few photos of the CEO there were with him without the mask, but there were photos. Jongin had seen them as Kim Junmyeon was one of the very first people he was taught to know on sight. Kim Ho's CEO was a man nearing nineties.

 

The man that crawled into the car with Jongin was barely older that Jongin himself.

 

“Hello Kim Jongin,” the CEO greeted him as he took off his hat and glasses and mask. His hair was white like an old man's, but his face was baby smooth and pale as fresh cream, barely a wrinkle in sight.

 

“Who are you?” Jongin asked.

 

The man laughed. “Are you surprised? After seeing my two lovebirds, did you expect me to be as old as you had been taught?”

 

“You're like ninety,” Jongin spouted.

 

“Oh, I'm much older than that, but my Kyungsoo would have never kissed me if I truly looked it.”

 

“How?”

 

Junmyeon held up one gloved hand and made a sweeping motion. “Makeup. I usually just cover up as to prevent the hours it takes to put such makeup on, but as the CEO, I can get away with time. I've been the owner of this bank since the original owner died two hundred years ago. It's been a safe haven for my vampire family. Would you like to join us, Kim Jongin?”

 

Jongin frowned. “Are you recruiting me because I'm a vampire or because I'm your rivals only son?”

 

“Well, both make very good reasons. Truth is, if it was my Kyungsoo that bit you than we are already family. I was the one who turned Kyungsoo only a few months prior to your own bite. Which, I am surprised you've gained so much vampiric power already. It usually takes a whole year for a vampire to truly control everything, but your hair is already white. Your skin, though, doesn't seem to be any paler.”

 

“Do you have a problem with my skin?” Jongin growled.

 

Junmyeon frowned. “No. If you were already tan, you won't lose much pigmentation. Those who don't have an abundance of melanin naturally shed it and become pale. They also gain sharper fangs that excrete venom, more so when excited, heightened senses with an added almost sixth sense of being able to tell what others are around them. We are extremely sensitive to light. As you may have noticed, you do shine a bit. I refrain from using the words glitter or sparkle. We aren't moving works of precious stone. We're warm blooded, but light refracts because of that shine so it makes reflections hard to see. You have to concentrate to get that shine down. It's part of our aura.”

 

Jongin nodded. He knew about the mirror thing all too well. “What else is there?”

 

“There is quite a lot, Kim Jongin. If you'd like, you can visit us any time and learn,” Junmyeon offered.

 

Jongin was tempted. He did want to know about this world he had suddenly been tossed into. “What about blood. If I bite someone, they'll turn, but I bit Lu Han and he says he's fine.”

 

Junmyeon's eyes glimmered. “Oh, Lu Han? Is he well? He doesn't visit us very often.”

 

“Why would he, he works for your rival.”

 

“Oh, right, your father.” Junmyeon sighed. “I don't really consider him a rival, but Lu Han was worried when we dropped in rank and went to get himself hired over there.”

 

“Is...is Lu Han a spy for you?” Jongin asked. He hadn't considered that if this man knew Lu Han then perhaps Lu Han was at Kim Eun Bank to corrupt it. Why else would he stay an intern for so long without complaint?

 

“No, I didn't tell him to work there. He does report stuff to me, but, Jongin, I'm a vampire. What do I care about ten or so years as number two? That's barely a fraction of my lifetime. I can just start anew somewhere else. This rivalry is just for fun. Lu Han's job was a move on the Monster Hunter's part.”

 

“And you're not part of the hunters?”

 

“Lu Han hasn't explained much to you then. He has no reason to, though. He must just have a soft spot for you.”

 

Jongin sure hoped he did. “Lu Han explained a lot.”

 

Junmyeon tapped softly on the door and Sehun and Chanyeol slid back inside taking seats opposite each other, Sehun beside Jongin and Chanyeol beside his boss. They stayed silent as Junmyeon continued talking, the car finally starting to drive back into more residential areas.

 

“When you need blood again, come to us, Kim Jongin. We have feeders. You are not capable enough to use your powers to seduce humans on your own, but if you do between then and now, as you seem to be taking the transition well, remember these rules: never bite a child – that use to mean only those that have not yet gained the ability to have children, but it now means no one who is under the legal adult age of the country they are in or from, never feed from a pregnant woman – you'll be able to smell if she is or not, and never feed from a woman during her monthly cycle – just don't. Instead of biting, you can cut with your nails and suck from there. There's still the chance of a considerate amount of venom getting into their system, but we have a gum that blocks the venom glands that you can chew on at least three times a day. As for food, you only need one fully portioned meal to keep up your strength, but you don't need to eat anything in order to live.”

 

Jongin nodded taking in the words. Not having to eat would save him money.

 

“Invest in suntan lotion when it starts to warm up. You won't' literally burn, but it does sting. If you stay out for too long you will steam. We do sweat, but we give off another substance that's part of that shine and it sublimes under sunlight, but only after a certain number of hours. The highest SPF will keep you going for a full day.”

 

“Is that it?” Jongin asked. “Just tips on taking care of myself? What about the Monster Hunters? Will they not hunt me? Lu Han said he was an ex-vampire. Does that mean being a vampire can be cured?”

 

“Unfortunately, that's all I can explain to you tonight,” Junmyeon said.

 

Jongin hadn't noticed, but they'd come to a stop not back at the expensive condo, but in front of his own studio apartment. “But, I want to know more.”

 

Sehun stepped out of the car and held the door opened.

 

“Consider my request for you to join us. And if you would prefer to take over your father's bank, we can help you with that as well. I am not asking to take you away from your human family,” Junmyeon said and smiled.

 

Jongin stared at his face as he slid out of the car. This really was the Kim Ho Bank's CEO, he could see how the transformation occurred, but Junmyeon would never see himself that old in real life. “Answer me just one thing. Can vampirism truly be reversed?”

 

Junmyeon rolled down his window when Jongin was out of the car just enough to be able to talk. “That answer is both a no and a yes. Now, goodnight, Kim Jongin.”

 

**$**

 

Jongin weighed his options during the week. He had come to learn so much yet he understood none of it. How could vampires truly exist? And not just vampires. Lu Han had alluded to other magical creatures existing alongside humans, Lu Han being one himself. Something immortal but not a monster. Were vampires even monsters? It was a whole other world. Would he have to live as long as Kim Junmyeon to understand it? And on the topic of Kim Ho's CEO, did Jongin want to be mentored by the man he had seen as his future rival in the ways of the vampire? Jongin didn't want to be a vampire. But, there was a way to reverse it and Jongin wanted to know more about that. He wanted to know more about all of it and part of him even considered the help Junmyeon offered him in taking over his father's bank. Jongin didn't have a desire for the bank, though. He had always wished his father would patch things up with his brother-in-law's family so Jongin could go do something reckless and get scratched off the family registry again.

 

But, instead of acting on any of his options, Jongin went to work and piled meats and vegetables on bread that was half stale and half gooey.

 

“Krystal, what did you do to the bread?” Jongin asked after having to hear a third complaint that day and it was only two hours into Jongin's shift.

 

“I made broth soaked crouton bread,” Krystal said. “It's good. Now, be quiet. Bi is about to be on the news and he's my favorite idol.”

 

Jongin frowned. He could hear the television coming from the backroom. He went to the bread cabinet and started tossing all the loaves that had been tortured by Krystal's haphazard recipe which left them with only one type of bread. Two women in their thirties walked in and Jongin went to greet them offering a salad when it looked like they were aiming for a bread they didn't have. He'd started making up deals to get people to buy more food and it seemed to work as long as he smiled and said it the way he wished he could talk to Lu Han.

 

Sitting in a corner with their two decked out salads and free coffees, Jongin happened to overhear the women talking with a newspaper spread out between them.

 

“Can you believe what's on the front cover of the news today?”

 

“No, I can't. Usually crimes like those get put down in a little box in the corner or are only on television. I can't believe they'd make it so public.”

 

“It's because it's the second murder like that.”

 

“The first was a shock, but they assumed it was a bad deal with a drunk prostitute.”

 

“She was killed the same way this insurance man was. They found bites all over him with chunks of flesh taken out.”

 

“Did someone let a pack of wild wolves roam in the city? I've never heard of an animal attack like that here in Seoul.”

 

“His wife is so pretty and young. She's a politician's youngest daughter, too, with a young one. I can understand why she would make it public. She wants justice for her husband.”

 

“You can't get justice on a dog.”

 

“What dog would pull a man's clothes off and leave him behind a love hotel?”

 

The conversation made Jongin's heart race. It sounded familiar. A girl that had been attacked the same way before? Partially eaten? His pupil that Jongin had never known the name to, he could barely remember her drunken face. Anger twisted at his stomach and he headed to the back to get out of earshot of the women. He walked in just as the face of Krystal's favorite idol was replaced by another familiar face Jongin only knew because he had seen it a few days prior though it had been scrunched up and suckling like an ugly pig on Krystal's breasts.

 

“Mr. Kim was found last night outside of a love hotel naked and bitten early this morning. It is unclear what attacked the insurance agent, but an autopsy report cleared it of any human act of battery. The attack has been linked to an earlier case this month with a young woman outside of a popular Seoul club. Animal control and the police are working together to search for any potential wild animals roaming the alleys and we urge anyone out at night to stay in pairs,” the reporter said as flashes from the crime scene cut across the screen.

 

Jongin stared at the screen for a while as it transitioned into the next story then slowly turned to look at Krystal. She was biting her nails as she sat in the only chair in the backroom, eyes trained past the television. How did it feel? Only a few days ago that dead man had been inside her and the most alive he'd probably ever been. And then there was the matter of her loan. They would find out, wouldn't they? The paperwork, the police might have to go through it. Prostitution was illegal and what Krystal had agreed on could be considered that in a court of law.

 

“Krystal,” Jongin said.

 

Krystal suddenly popped up from the chair. She looked around for a second then crossed her arms and stared at Jongin seriously. “There weren't any papers. The money is with me, so we're fine. I'll go get more bread.”

 

She started to move past Jongin, but Jongin reached out and caught her wrist stopping Krystal. “Are you alright?”

 

Krystal immediately pulled her arm away and glared. “I really don't care about that man.”

 

She looked angry and serious so Jongin lowered his hand and let her pass, but as she walked out, Jongin could sense that Krystal was scared.

 

**$**

 

When closing time came, Jongin felt as if a million pounds had been lifted from his shoulders. Krystal had only come back once to stock the bread before leaving with instructions for Jongin to close up when customers stopped coming in, never once looking him in the eye. The news of the lender being killed had definitely shook her up more than she wanted Jongin to believe, but Krystal was just his boss. He didn't even know her real name and the wad of cash she had handed him as that month's payment was more than Jongin had suspected. Jongin could only guess who she really was, but he thought she must have more money than what it appeared, the youngest heiress or an only granddaughter to a powerful family who was being allowed to run around as she liked? Jongin was curious, but what truly bothered him about the death was its similarities to the girl he'd attacked in the alley.

 

Jongin rolled his shoulders, hearing his bones crack as he cleaned up. He didn't bother with his expensive coat as he walked out of the deli and into the cold street locking up behind him. It was starting to flurry just slightly. There was snow forecasted for later that night, but Jongin hurried just in case the snow decided to start earlier. It was Friday. He wanted to see Lu Han dance. Dressed in his usual sweats and snapback, Lu Han was already more than halfway through his recently choreographed speed routine in preparation for the difficult weather. Jongin took up his residence against the overpass wall, arms crossed with his coat, and watched Lu Han dance with a smile on his face. He wasn't exactly beautiful all sweaty in sweats, baby face not matching the moves, but his eyes showed true passion. Jongin had never seen Lu Han perform in an actual costume on an actual stage, but he could imagine it in that Monster Hunter get up with his hair teased and eyes lined with kohl adding to the fire already in the glimmering orbs. Jongin's stomach twisted as he continued to watch Lu Han and he scratched at his throat.

 

It was another thirty minutes before Lu Han excused himself from his short term admirers and fans and started packing up. Jongin waited until most of the group had gone before approaching Lu Han.

 

“Did you see the news?” he asked.

 

Lu Han turned around, taking a step back as if surprised. “I didn't know you were there, Jongin. Weren't you just by the wall?”

 

Jongin looked from the wall to where he was next to Lu Han then around him. That short trip had been more brisk compared to how far everyone else had walked. “I'm getting faster.”

 

“Yes, speed and strength would be next for you to develop I suppose. What's this about the news?”

 

Jongin lowered his voice as he talked. “There was another murder like the one with the girl I...with my would be apprentice.” Jongin didn't want to say attacked. He couldn't have someone overhearing that. If the police found out about Krystal's involvement with that lender they may assume Jongin killed him in a fit of jealousy even if he didn't particularly like Krystal.

 

Lu Han nodded and gestured behind one of the pillars that held up the overpass. “Let's talk more in private.”

 

Jongin followed Lu Han. There was an alley behind the pillar. They didn't go down it, but used the shadows cast from the pillar into the alley like a curtain. Lu Han leaned against the pillar and Jongin stood close with his back to the alley.

 

“I read the report on the murder. You think they're connected, too?” Lu Han asked.

 

“The news said they were. Is there any room for questioning?”

 

Lu Han grinned. “You believe pure humans now? They don't even know your kind exists, but they're not always wrong. When we don't now a possibility exists, we rely on what we know and what we know is they were both killed the same way. We're still waiting on more testing to be done on the human side before we can compare it to what the hunters have.”

 

“And what do the Monster Hunters have?” Jongin asked.

 

“A nightmare,” Lu Han sighed. “But our whole lives are nightmares. There are more than just us, humans, and vampires. We have a lot more possibilities to widdle down than humans.”

 

“I...” Jongin started. Should he tell Lu Han about Krystal's involvement with the man? She hadn't been involved with the woman so there wasn't a connection there. “Have there been other deaths like this?”

 

Lu Han hummed. “Similar, but these are very messy. I'm not quite sure. You talked to Suho recently, yes?”

 

Suho? Jongin nodded. “Kim Junmyeon. We met.”

 

Lu Han nodded and was about to say more when Jongin's phone went off. He pulled it out and looked down on the screen only to frown seeing a text from one of his father's secretaries. He quickly read it and his frown turned into a clenched teeth grimace.

 

“What's wrong?” Lu Han asked.

 

“I have to go to a business lunch on Sunday,” Jongin said.

 

“Haven't you been to those before?”

 

Jongin sighed. “Yeah, but I have to sit at the actual table with my brother-in-law and father this time instead of with the interns and assistants.”

 

“You've been studying for years. You'll do great,” Lu Han cheered.

 

Jongin only looked away. He felt sick. There hadn't been a warning that his father was going to actually start using him. He wasn't ready for this. “Um, just, can you contact me about what the hunters find and...”

 

“Jongin, look at me,” Lu Han said.

 

He couldn't help it, Jongin obeyed. Lu Han's voice had been soft and his eyes were glittering with the same intensity. He reached up and touched Jongin's face daintily, fingers tracing under one eye.

 

“Your eyes Jongin. They're mostly iris.”

 

Jongin immediately stepped away. “They...they do that now.”

 

“I know. It's because you're stressed. Come here.” Lu Han reached out again and pulled Jongin forward by his chin. He pressed his thumb against Jongin's lips and Jongin parted them easily. “Your fangs are sticky. Did you not get any gum from Suho?”

 

Jongin's answered was slurred by the thumb in his mouth. “I haven't visited him since I met him.”

 

Lu Han pulled his hand away. “I thought it might last a little longer, my blood, but you are a fast developer. I don't want you doing something you'll regret at the business meeting so you can feed from me.”

 

“What?” Jongin asked.

 

“I'm going to give you blood. It's been a week anyways. Vampires in sects feed once a day, but very little. You can consider yourself a rogue so you don't have that kind of steady stream of blood. And you don't know how to get it for yourself without making a mess. Just feed from me now.”

 

Jongin's heart started to race. Feed from Lu Han? He'd had Lu Han's blood before, Lu Han's delicious blood. And he smelt so nice. He'd probably feel nice, too. Jongin licked his fangs. “Are you sure that's alright?”

 

“I'm immune to your venom. If you haven't been taking the proper precautions then you'll end up making apprentices,” Lu Han said and started to shrug off his jacket. Underneath, he only wore a white wide v-neck t-shirt. “It's fine.”

 

Jongin took in a deep breath. He could smell Lu Han. Sweat from dancing dried on his skin, but he wasn't drenched in it. It wasn't a nice smell, but Jongin was attracted to it just as he was attracted to the sound of the beating heart he could hear in Lu Han's chest. He could hear it. It pounded slightly faster than normal, pumping blood, delicious blood, through that pale youthful but old body. “Alright,” Jongin agreed.

 

Lu Han started to lift an arm. Jongin grabbed it and pressed Lu Han against the pillar and nuzzled into his neck.

 

“Wait, Jongin not the ...,” Lu Han started, but gasped when Jongin buried his teeth into the revealed skin of Lu Han's shoulder and throat where he could hear Lu Han's pulse against his ear. “N-not the neck.”

 

Jongin had moved on instinct, but he had already committed by the time he realized Lu Han may not have wanted to be chomped on. He had thought Lu Han would be strong enough to push him away. He had last time, but the Chinese intern and Monster Hunter, only whimpered then slumped in Jongin's arms and Jongin sucked and lapped at the blood that filled his mouth. Lu Han didn't seem to be in pain, though. Footsteps walked past them, not taking notice of them in the shadows. Lu Han grabbed onto Jongin's coat and buried his face into his hair, breathing in small pants, but, still, Jongin didn't taste that he was in pain. For some reason, Jongin could taste that. The girl he'd bitten had been in pain, but Lu Han didn't have that pain. He was sweet.

 

When he thought he had taken more than enough, Jongin moved away. He caught himself from wiping his bloodstained lips on his expensive coat and used his shirt collar instead. Lu Han leaned against the pillar then reached forward to hold himself up by Jongin's shoulders. His legs seemed wobbly and his face was pink.

 

“I was going to give you my wrist, Kim Jongin,” Lu Han whispered.

 

“Sorry...are you alright?”

 

“Not really,” Lu Han said. “Can you just...can you hold me for a while? I mean, hold me up.”

 

“Of course,” Jongin agreed. He took Lu Han into his arms. The hunter wouldn't look at him, but his face was pink and his heart fluttering along with their beats. He reached up and petted his crush's hair. “Are you in pain.”

 

“It's sore, but no. No, it's not pain,” Lu Han whispered still with wobbly legs, voice breathy.

 

Jongin held Lu Han closer. He held Lu Han for a good thirty minutes and grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated.


	8. Pacta Sunt Servanda

**8. _Pacta Sunt Servanda_**

 

    It was lucky Jongin had Taemin as a friend. He still got surprised when passing mirrors the few times he could actually see his reflection and noticed his white hair and he had barely remembered his father's disapproval about the change of color a few days before. He bought a box of black dye and sneaked into Taemin's group's dorm to let one of Taemin's band members color his hair. It had already faded to a dark brown by the time the business dinner occurred Sunday afternoon, only two days later. He tapped his fingers against the gelled perfection of it feeling for stray spikes before adjusting his stuffy suit as he looked around the hotel they had chosen to dine at. He saw lots of men in suits. He knew he was suppose to know all of them, or at least the ones that looked like they were in charge, but Jongin could only put names to half of the faces. He wanted to go over to Mrs. Kim and his two sisters and hide behind their pencil skirts like a little kid, but they were with his brother-in-law who was conversing with a man Jongin was sure he'd never learned about. He'd make a fool of himself if he went over there and Jo Insung always gave him dirty looks if he spent too much time around his female relatives. So, Jongin just stood behind a pillar in the lobby and watched everyone. It didn't seem like anyone knew who he was so he could afford to hide for now.

 

The doors to the hotel opened and a small but intimidating looking group showed up, his father's bodyguards, secretaries, and press representatives with the bank owner himself in the middle. Jongin perked up when he caught the scent of Lu Han in the group, surprised that the intern of the Chinese affairs department would be present. Maybe they just needed an intern and someone foreign to make them look impressive. Also, Lu Han was a gorgeous specimen human or not. His father began his rounds talking to all the men. Jongin didn’t expect to hear his name as he reached for a glass of water one of the hotel workers were passing around on a platter and capsized it, only to catch it top up with only a few stray drops and he placed it back on the tray before the waiter could say anything. In Jongin's eyes, it had been a feat that took much too long not to have caused more of a mess, but to everyone else, it was just quick reflexes and pure luck the glasses hadn't turned.

 

“Jongin, come here,” Jongin's father called again.

 

Jongin apologized to the waiter and made his way over feeling clumsy and wondering how he ever use to dance with two left feet. He stood beside his father, his brother-in-law on the other side, and looked at the two men opposite him curiously. He knew who they were, men from a very popular building company. They were trying to get a loan. That was what the dinner was about, but a free loan, a loan for publicity, but the sum was much too large for the Kim Eun Bank to give away like that.

 

“So you're the Kim Jongin Eunjoon's been keeping locked up in his basement. A son. He's just as handsome as you and his mother must have been even more beautiful than Mrs. Kim,” one of the men said and looked Jongin up and down. “He looks like a strong strapping young man.”

 

Jongin tried not to show his discomfort. He understood he had become more attractive now as a vampire (not that he wasn’t before), but he wasn't use to people who would have sneered at him suddenly ogling his appearance. “Yes, it is good to meet you, Mr. Park and Mr. Ok.”

 

“Oh, you know us. Seems you've been educated well,” one of the men said, the other hummed in agreement.

 

“I think we should test Jongin since he's been studying so hard,” Jongin's brother-in-law said.

 

Jo Insung had seemed like a decent enough guy the first time Jongin had met him only months before his wedding to Hyuna. The man was more than ten years older than Hyuna, but good looking and successful as his family's successor to a company that they didn't personally run so he had the time to take over a bank. Hyuna had only ever told Jongin that she found her fiance attractive and that was the only reason she'd agreed to the engagement that had been set up the moment she'd graduated high school. They had married not long after her college graduation, two years after Jongin had been legitimized. Though the Jos were fighting with his father, they still wanted the claim to Kim Eun Bank through the marriage. In the two years since, Jongin rarely saw his brother-in-law, but the second time he'd seen him at a dinner before the wedding, he'd realized the man wasn't as nice as he seemed. He didn't like Jongin because Jongin was here to replace him. Hyuna was only two years older than Jongin. It had only taken a year for Jo Insung to go from the next owner of Kim Eun Bank to just a son-in-law. He'd made his displeasure about that clear to Jongin that night. Jongin could still feel the beating in his bones he’d taken in the back of the restaurant in Jo Insung’s name. And that taunting words about him staying too close to his sisters.

 

“Yes, what do you think would be a decent interest rate?” one of the men asked.

 

The eyes of both his brother-in-law and father were on Jongin as he weighed a possible answer. “Well, what were the interest rates you were considering, father?”

 

“Your father wants something in the twenty percent,” one of the men said.

 

“And these men think a measly five percent should suffice,” his brother-in-law said.

 

“Well, it is a large sum of money we'll be handing over,” Jongin started. “It's not a donation as your benefactors for the project are asking for a loan specifically for the actual building not the use of the building. Since this is business, a low percentage wouldn't benefit this, but we will get publicity if the use of the building becomes popular. I think the twenties might be a bit high. For a business gamble, you have to risk more. Somewhere in the teens I think would work with the right commercial promises.”

 

There was silence for a moment. Jongin thought perhaps he had given the wrong answer or his calculations were off, but he knew the interest they offered normal folks and the interest large businesses got and he knew that they had to do charity offers here and there to keep the press happy. Jongin knew a lot, he had to, but did he know enough? His heart started beating fast in his chest and his throat felt dry and itchy. He wanted a drink.

 

“I think Jongin's right. We do have to gamble a bit,” his father finally said. “Seventeen percent.”

 

The men didn't seem pleased, but it was a percentage quite a bit lower than what they were already getting. “We'll talk this over with our benefactors.”

 

The two men left and his father was immediately pulled away by another old suited man. Jo Insung stared down at Jongin. “That wasn’t a difficult question. If you’re nervous about that you won’t be able to take over the bank.”

 

“Yeah, thanks, I’ll take that into consideration,” Jongin said with a roll of his eyes and quickly made his way back to his pillar scratching at his parched throat. He didn't think he could handle more conversations like that. It made him too nervous having to use what he was taught in an actual situation. He was thirsty and looked around the lobby spotting Lu Han off in a corner jotting notes and rushing in the direction of the hotel kitchen. Jongin followed after him and pulled Lu Han aside.

 

“What, Jongin!” Lu Han said surprised.

 

“Sorry, I didn't know you were going to be here,” Jongin said looking Lu Han up and down. He looked cute in his businessman suit and fluffy hair, neck long and white and strong.

 

“Well, honestly, I was worried how you would do since you were freaking out the other night. Also, I wanted the extra pay so I agreed to be the intern for the day. They just want me to tell the staff to hurry up and that some of the orders changed,” Lu Han said and waved his little book he'd been jotting notes down on.

 

Jongin grinned. “You were worried about me?”

 

Lu Han rolled his eyes. “Is that all you heard? Well, I shouldn't have, you did well just now. You've studied for so long you know how to play these people more than you think you do. And, you have the added bonus of a vampire's attraction. They'll be more inclined to change their minds.”

 

“Well, I can't do any more of that, it makes me so nervous and that makes me thirsty. Lu Han, can I feed?” Jongin asked and looked at Lu Han hopefully.

 

Lu Han blinked a couple times then pulled away with a blush. “Don't look at me like a puppy, Kim Jongin. You are full enough of blood, you don't need to feed. Besides, I'm not wearing something I can go wash immediately. This suit was expensive.”

 

Jongin sighed. “Not even your wrist?”

 

“No. Besides, I get the feeling Suho will be here. He'll probably try and corner one of those men to make them a better offer. It'd be troublesome if he talks to you so I need to follow him around and I can't do that if my legs are all wobbly.”

 

Jongin chuckled. “I didn't take that much blood, did I?”

 

“Don't try to be coy, you were grinning that whole time. I'll come right out and say it. If a vampire's bite isn't painful then it's pleasurable,” Lu Han said and started to walk away.

 

“Wait, can I get a hug then?” Jongin asked and spread out his arms. He wasn’t sure if it would work. He’d never asked for more than advice from Lu Han and the feeding was something Lu Han had offered before. They had never really hugged.

 

Lu Han seemed surprised, but smiled and lightly placed his arms around Jongin's waist and put his head in the crook of Jongin's neck as Jongin wrapped his arms around the Chinese intern and squeezed just enough to make their body heat merge. With Lu Han's green tea scent filling Jongin's breath and his warmth, Jongin felt calmer in all areas but one.

 

**$**

 

By the time the dinner meeting was done, Jongin felt like throwing up. He had barely touched his food, just enough to be polite, most of it going into his napkin, but there hadn't been much time to eat when he kept getting asked questions. He had to sit beside his father with his brother-in-law watching him the whole time. He knew he had messed up a couple times, but overall, it seemed they had come to an agreement after, as Lu Han said, one of the men had run into Kim Junmyeon outside in the lobby. Their name would be on, what Jongin had found out was a research facility for medicine, after it was built and they would get most of the money they were loaning back in interest. Jongin loosened his tie and looked around for the hotel worker with the water platter, but they had already gone back to their normal duties. His sisters and Mrs. Kim were enjoying glasses of clear liquids while laughing, but Jo Insung was hovering close to them. Jongin decided he'd just leave. No one had asked him to stay and only his father and brother-in-law had been invited to have drinks after.

 

“You did well,” a voice said from behind him and Jongin felt a warm hand on his back.

 

“Lu Han, thanks.” He turned and smiled at Lu Han, the other man's hand moving from his back to his shoulder with the motion.

 

“It was a test, you know that,” Lu Han said smiling.

 

“Of course. I'd say it was a B. Not the perfect score that man probably wanted,” Jongin said and sighed.

 

Lu Han moved his hand down and grabbed Jongin's. He held it for a moment before moving it away and Jongin felt a paper in his hand. “Meet me here when you leave. Say 'The Dawn Deer and Suho sent me' and they'll let you in.”

 

“What is this?” Jongin asked looking at the address. It was in an older but rich part of Seoul.

 

“You'll know when you get there,” Lu Han said and rushed away to help out the secretaries make last minute plans.

 

Jongin hoped this was Lu Han's address and that the older man was making the first move, but a large part of Jongin told him it was something to do with being a vampire. Before anyone could hold him back, Jongin left the hotel and caught a cab. They stopped in front of a large old style mansion and Jongin stepped out walking over to the little intercom on the new electric gate that clashed with the old style of the house and pressed the button.

 

“Who are you?” someone asked.

 

“Um, Kim Jongin. Lu Han...I mean he said to say 'the Dawn Deer and Suho sent me',” Jongin said.

 

“Ah, our new vampire friend.” The door suddenly opened and Jongin walked in. It was a beautiful place with gardens and statues and many native plants. He hurried to the front door and knocked lightly on the wood frame before letting himself in. There was someone on the other side walking past just down the hall. Their hair was white, skin not quite pale, and eyes slanted and tired looking in a charming sort of way. They stopped then hissed at Jongin. Instinctively, Jongin hissed back.

 

“Zitao, stop that,” a voice said coming out from one of the rooms followed by a familiar figure.

 

“The bartender,” Jongin said stopping in his hissing first.

 

Yixing, the bartender, moved over to the other man and held him lightly, calming him then turned to look at Jongin. “I'm sorry. Zitao's still not use to having vampires around him that he's not use to. It takes a while for the change to make you feel human again.”

 

Jongin stared confused. “Change? Are you vampires, too?”

 

“Can't you tell?” Yixing asked. “I am, but Zitao isn't, not anymore.”

 

Jongin closed his eyes for a moment and tried to feel the difference. Yes, yes he could tell. Zitao seemed human just like Lu Han did, but Yixing, he hadn't noticed it before probably because he'd still been so new and was already familiar with the man, but the bartender did have that dangerous feeling to him and Jongin's blood boiled a bit being around a vampire he hadn't accepted as a friend yet. “I can tell.”

 

Yixing nodded then gestured towards a room. “Wait there. Lu Han isn't back and Yifan most likely won't come out until he is. As for me, I'll be having lunch so please don't disturb us for a while. We don't share.”

 

Jongin watched Yixing pull Zitao away, just slightly remembering the ex-vampire from one time in the bar as Yixing's boyfriend. He wouldn't have guessed they were part of this world, but why else would Kyungsoo have been watching over the bar. Had he always been surrounded by this many magical creatures? Jongin made his way to the sitting room as he considered it.

 

“You're here already, Jongin?”

 

The familiar voice brought Jongin out of his train of thought. He wasn't sure how long he had been contemplating or maybe he'd just been staring at a wall having given up on such thoughts, but he felt saliva immediately fill his mouth when he looked at Lu Han. Black leather and silk clad Lu Han. Without the trenchcoat, Jongin could really make out his frame. He looked so attractive, eyes already lined with kohl and his mousy brown hair teased with blond hairs showing through the dye.

 

Lu Han clapped his hands in front of Jongin's face. “Did you hear me?”

 

“No,” Jongin answered honestly, blaming his honesty on his sudden vampirism. “I was looking at you.”

 

Surprise showed on Lu Han's face and he looked away before clearing his throat. “I said I'm letting you meet our leader. The Monster Hunter team here in South Korea isn't very big. This is the main headquarters and the only agents here are all Chinese. We were all part of Suho's sect. I'm going to go ahead and get some stuff out of the way. Don't ask Yifan about Suho and vice versa. It's been a hundred years, but that's like five for those two. They were both turned into vampires at the same time, but Yifan was one of the first to become a Monster Hunter. The ability to do this only showed up a couple hundred years ago and it wasn't very successful.”

 

“Am I here to learn about that?” Jongin asked. “Are you guys going to turn me back?”

 

Lu Han was surprised by the question. “I...that's...”

 

“No,” said another voice from the entrance to the room.

 

Jongin turned his head to see a tall man walking towards them with white hair and clothes like Lu Han. “We can't turn someone so new back. That is something you can consider once you have fully developed as a vampire. We are here to talk about the case at hand.”

 

Lu Han took a seat beside Jongin and this new man sat in a chair beside them in a sweeping but clumsy motion. He let out a sigh as he got comfortable then turned serious eyes on Lu Han and Jongin. “I'm Wu Yifan. You may also know me as Kris.”

 

“The actor?” Jongin asked. “You had a shaved head the last movie I saw you in.”

 

“I haven't had a gig in a while, the white grew back,” Yifan explained. “We've been busy looking into attacks like the one that befell your potential apprentice and the insurance broker. You already have the money and power, but we would like for you to join Suho's sect officially.”

 

Jongin frowned. “Kim Ho Bank is my family's rival. I can't be seen with them.”

 

“You can. If you want to succeed your father then a partnership with your rival isn't bad. We ask you, but we are not demanding you to. However, you will need to learn to be a vampire and until you've joined a sect, I'm having Lu Han be your feeder and your mentor. He will teach you about the magical creature world and what he can remember from being a vampire. In exchange, we just need your money and power to help catch the attacker,” Yifan explained.

 

Jongin was happy to take Lu Han as a feeder and more, but he didn't like what they were asking in exchange. “You want a loan?”

 

“Yes,” Yifan confirmed. “We are not as large as the European groups of Monster Hunters and there are very few of us in general. We are funded by the vampire groups we come from, but we can not rely on Kim Ho Bank fully nor the businesses of other sects in the area. It is a time where most vampires are hiding. And it's a very bad time for that because this attacker is not human and whatever potential monster it is, it doesn't belong here.”

 

A monster, a real monster. Jongin wanted to capture it. He turned to Lu Han. “Are you alright with that arrangement? Are you alright with sticking to me so often.”

 

Lu Han sat up straighter. “I don't mind it.”

 

Jongin smiled then looked at Yifan. “You know I won’t be able to get you a loan until my father gives me that power. Your investigation could be over by then.”

 

“That’s fine. We just need to know it is there for us. We’ve got years to do so,” Yifan explained.

 

That was true, Jongin guessed. Well, all he could do was learn in his situation. And with the incentive of a large loan brought on by Jongin, it wasn’t only the vampire learning he’d have to do. There wasn't anything else he wanted to do. Maybe it would be fun.

 

And he got to be around Lu Han more.

 

“Deal.”

 

**$**

 

“Tell me again why we're coming to Kim Junmyeon's condo?” Jongin asked as he followed the leather clad Lu Han into the fancy building just after meeting the Seoul group of Monster Hunters.

 

“We're partners now. You're going to help me with my investigation. You're the only person we have alive that's related to it and you're a bit of a curiosity yourself,” Lu Han said and pushed a button for the elevator.

 

“How so? I'm a vampire, but you're use to that, right?”

 

Lu Han hummed. “Well, you made Kyungsoo sick. We're still not sure why that was. And you attacked him as well, but that could just mean Kyungsoo has fast working venom and you are just extremely compatible.” He got on the elevator.

 

“Maybe my blood just isn't for him and the attacking thing was a fluke.I don’t even remember doing that. Adrenaline rush, ” Jongin offered getting on with Lu Han.

 

“Perhaps,” Lu Han said and the elevator started up. On the top floor of condos, the elevator stopped. Lu Han tapped in a security code and the doors opened and the hunter led them off. “You should also meet the other vampires related to you. Kyungsoo made you, but Suho made Kyungsoo and they're lovers.”

 

Jongin considered that. “I already met the tall guys and Yixing was at your place. Who else is there?”

 

“You'll see,” was the only thing Lu Han said and started down the hall of condos. He knocked on one door in particular, not the one Jongin remembered from last time nor the one at the far end he guessed belonged to Kim Junmyeon.

 

A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a small man, built, but still soft looking with monolids dressed in a suit with the same white blonde hair as the other vampires and Monster Hunters he'd seen. He grinned and Jongin could see his sharp glistening fangs and opened the door wider for them to both come in.

 

“Lu Han, good to see you,” the vampire greeted.

 

“Hello, Minseok,” Lu Han greeted back, smiling as well.

 

Jongin crossed his arms and stared between the two. The unfamiliar vampire finally turned to Jongin. “And you're Kyungsoo's apprentice, Kim Jongin.”

 

“Not really,” Jongin said, “but yes, that's my name.”

 

“Apprentice simply means you were turned by that person,” Minseok said. “Also, master would be the other way around, but we use mentor now and sire.”

 

“I'm not calling him master or mentor or that other word,” Jongin said stubbornly.

 

Lu Han sighed and grabbed Jongin's hand to lead him into another room of the condo. “Come along, Jongin. You just have to listen to what they tell you, you don't have to do it.”

 

Minseok followed them into a sitting room that reminded Jongin of an office. The whole condo actually looked like an office. “Does everyone live on this floor?”

 

“Yes,” Minseok answered. “Everyone that's currently not in hiding right now, that is, and in Seoul. We have to swap out to keep the humans from recognizing us. Humans can be very scary in hordes and it gets boring playing human so it's good to play hidden monster in the forest every now and then. Speaking of humans, Yifan didn't come with you?”

 

Lu Han pulled Jongin down onto a couch with him. “No. He's avoiding you. You're coming on too strong. It's one thing to ask someone to be your feeder so boldly, it's another to ask him to be your lover.”

 

Minseok shrugged. “He hasn't had a real lover in decades. It's about time he got over Suho. He was the one that left to be a Hunter. Besides, it's not like we haven't had sex before.”

 

“I heard sex,” said another voice coming out from a room behind Jongin. “Don't talk about sex. I haven't seen my own lover in months.”

 

Jongin turned to see the rambunctious waiter from the bar. He blinked a couple times then shook his head. He should have guessed anyone that worked at that bar was a vampire.

 

“Oh, it's pretty Lu Han and that gold vampire.”

 

“Gold?” Jongin asked.

 

Minseok tapped his own skin. “You're not super pale.”

 

“Baekhyun's an idiot,” Lu Han whispered to Jongin and patted his knee.

 

“Yes he is,” agreed another voice and Kim Junmyeon walked out from yet another room followed by Kyungsoo and the two tall vampires. Jongin guessed Chanyeol and Sehun acted as bodyguards of sorts. “Welcome back, Jongin.”

 

“Yeah, hi,” Jongin said.

 

“Kyungsoo, the kit,” Junmyeon said.

 

Kyungsoo walked forward, the only one of the vampires not dressed in a suit or with blond hair though it did look a few shades lighter than the last time he'd seen the man that changed him, and handed Jongin a box. He glared at Jongin when he did it and Jongin glared right back.

 

“You could consider this a vampire beginner's kit,” Junmyeon explained. “Inside is a few notes I jotted down to help control your powers and a small stash of that gum. And I've added my recommended black hair dye, but it's best just to learn to walk comfortably with your platinum. I didn't bother adding blood capsules to it which we use for beginner vampires who don't have a steady flow of blood as I've just been informed that Lu Han here will be happily acting as your feeder.”

 

Lu Han made a face at the wording, but responded,“That's correct.”

 

Jongin began scratching at the tape of the box. He didn't really want to be here any longer. It felt like his blood was itching his skin trying to escape because of the many unfamiliar and intimidating vampires around him. For people who were suppose to share the same, well, poison line as him, he felt like they were two completely different species.

 

“He's very important to our investigation as is your whole sect. I've come to retrieve feeding documents from you and those in hiding and living undercover,” Lu Han said

 

“Yixing's the only one that lives outside of the building, but he’s usually at your headquarters with Zitao. I'll get in contact with the lords to see if any of their apprentices are currently in Seoul outside of the main mansion,” Junmyeon said and waved a hand towards Minseok.

 

“Gotcha, I'll be right back,” Minseok said and ran off.

 

“As for Jongin, the offer still stands. The business deal aside, just vampire training in general I'd be happy to offer. Lu Han could help you, but he does do human work and should be sleeping human hours outside of his hunter jobs,” Junmyeon said. He glanced over at Lu Han with a look of fondness that made Jongin grind his teeth together to keep from hissing.

 

“I can't be seen with you,” Jongin managed to spit out.

 

Junmyeon smiled. “There's always ways around that.”

 

Minseok came back with a flash drive and handed it off to Lu Han. “That's it. You should be able to crack the password if you're still my best friend.”

 

Lu Han took the flash drive and laughed. “I believe it won't be difficult. Now, if you'll excuse us, we've both got human work tomorrow.”

 

Jongin followed Lu Han out of the condo and back to the elevator. As soon as they were in the lobby, Jongin asked, “Are you on good terms with them?”

 

“Suho's sect? Yes, they were my group. Not my blood, but my group for a good portion of time,” Lu Han said.

 

“Were any of them...” Jongin started. “Well, like that Minseok guy was talking about.”

 

“Oh, um,” Lu Han answered, “Minseok and I get along well. I get along with all of them well. That’s all.”

 

“And, how well did you get along with Kim Junmyeon?” Jongin asked.

 

Lu Han walked a couple of steps ahead of Jongin, heels clicking on the floor loudly and he didn't turn back to look at Jongin when he answered. “The same, at least on my part.”

 

Jongin felt somewhat relieved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated.


	9. Auribus Teneo Lupum

**9. _Auribus Teneo Lupum_**

 

    Laughter could be heard from the backroom of Krystal Wiches. Jongin tried to ignore it, but every professional businessman fiber that had been ingrained into him told him he should march back there and demand Krystal to stop. However, this was Krystal's business. Jongin could always say she had threatened to fire him or some other sort of blackmail if the health inspector happened to stop by while she was getting fucked during work hours. Also, Jongin felt like this was Krystal's way of coping with the death of her benefactor. She said she didn't care, but even if it wasn't the actual man she cared for, the uncertainty of money and loss of control over someone with more power had definitely affected her. The men she had been bringing in that week all wore suits and were at least ten years older than her though Jongin had seen Krystal flirting with young men passing by on the streets as well when she went to hand out fliers. But, there was another concern.

 

Across the street from Krystal Wiches was a cafe that saw many more customers than their deli. Jongin had seen a few men he knew only by face and company walk inside a couple hours after his shift started and they still hadn't come out with only an hour until Jongin left. Newspaper reporters. Very annoying newspaper reporters. He'd seen them taking pictures when it was Jongin's turn to go stand out in the streets. Krystal had urged him to flirt with passing girls a bit more, but even with her watchful eye, Jongin had kept it toned down. He didn't think it was likely that those men were there for him, perhaps they had gotten a call for an actual celebrity showing up around the area. Maybe Jongin looked like that celebrity. But, they were definitely taking pictures of him.

 

The backroom door opened and Krystal walked out giggling followed by a man Jongin didn't pay much attention to. He bowed towards Jongin and hurried out knotting up his tie almost bumping into a group of girls who had seemed interested in their deli, but walked on by.

 

“Sure is getting exciting around here,” Jongin said sarcastically.

 

Krystal leaned against the register next to him. “Sure is, especially with your paparazzi across the street.”

 

“They're not my paparazzi. They're just reporters. I don't know why they'd be taking pictures of me.”

 

“Really? You don't know?” Krystal asked.

 

Jongin looked at her curiously and she pulled her phone out from the low cut of her dress. Jongin made a face, but it wasn't like there was any room for pockets on the short sweater dress she wore like she promised, he just made a note not to touch her phone. He watched as Krystal tapped at her phone then flipped it to show him a video. It was a press conference with his father, but only a clip in which he talked about his bastard son, Kim Jongin, and the official heir to Kim Eun Bank.

 

Jongin wanted to hit something. He wanted to scream. He wanted to laugh in relief. That man had made it official. Jongin knew that was the plan from the beginning, but it had to be serious in order to scare Jo Insung's family into bowing to the Kim Eun Bank. Never had Jongin imagined it to be official and especially not without Jongin's own consent. Or was the years of forced schooling and lessons what they took as Jongin's consent. He hadn't known what else to do. His only dream had been dancing and it wasn't like they had the money for it anyways back then even if his mother had agreed to it. And then he'd gone and messed around with a bad group. He'd ruined any chance of that dream and it would definitely surface with this new announcement. But, he'd worked hard to overcome that past, at least that's what their company would play for the media. And if it was said he had some connections to Korean mafias, well that wouldn't necessarily hurt their bank not that he actually did, but who knew where those so called friends of his were now.

 

With shaky hands, Jongin removed his apron. “Would it be alright if I left now?”

 

Krystal looked Jongin over then sighed. “Go on ahead. No one's come in today anyways. I'm thinking about closing for a week soon to do the renovations.”

 

Jongin nodded. “And maybe think about investing in air fresheners if you plan on doing that in the backroom. You reek of sex and who knows what.” It hadn’t been so bad when Krystal was actually in the back room, but the smell was worse out here and the strings of garlic weren’t helping.

 

Krystal's eyes widened. “Oh. Speaking of smells, I got more garlic. They rot fast when you dye them. I'll hang those up and man the store. You go take care of business.”

 

Jongin moved out from behind the counter and headed out. “See ya.”

 

It was late winter and still cold. Jongin hadn't bothered to bring his expensive coat out lately. Besides, the shivering helped circulate his blood that was already boiling from anger and calmed him down. He couldn't feel the cold, but he didn't need to get worked up  without Lu Han close by. It was about the time for another feeding. The thought of Lu Han's blood calmed him. The thought of Lu Han in general took Jongin's mind to much more pleasant places and at first he didn't notice the feet following him until he heard the flash. They were still far off, but close enough that Jongin could sense the reporters. He decided to take an alleyway in hopes of losing them. They probably already knew where Jongin's mother was, but he didn't need them following him to his studio. If he couldn't lose them in fifteen minutes he'd just go to the manor. However, Jongin had forgotten that with his new vampire powers came an efficiency in speed and evasiveness. It was only five minutes until he stopped sensing the paparazzi and instead found himself lost in the back alleys of a less richer part of Seoul.

 

“Great, just fucking great,” Jongin mumbled to himself. He could risk going back and having the reporters find him, but instead, he kept walking. Eventually he'd end up on an actual road again.

 

A dead end.

 

Jongin looked at the wall in front of him and frowned. He had hoped navigational abilities would be an added bonus, but he guessed even those didn't factor in walls and street rules. But, perhaps...Jongin stared at his hands. His nails could grow longer like a cat unleashing their claws. He scratched at the wall. It wasn't exactly as if his nails were picks, but if he moved fast enough, he could probably scale the small wall and see if he couldn't go straight. If not, maybe he could parkour. He'd always wanted to try that. Like a large cat, Jongin managed to scurry up the wall and balanced himself on the edge. On the other side was a small house fenced in and a small street on the other side of it. If he took that small street to the right, he could see brighter lights and a busier block. He walked the fence and was about to jump down when he heard something.

 

There was a growling. A snarling. Jongin turned his head slowly towards the sound and his eyes zoomed into the shadows. A large dog. A very large dog. Was bent over a smaller creature and tearing into it. Jongin watched carefully until, in only a few more bites, the large dog completed its meal and stood. It stood on two legs like a man, howled once, and Jongin witnessed perhaps the most gruesome phenomenon he'd ever seen as the large dog shifted into a man. Slowly, they turned their head and yellow eyes met Jongin's.

 

Jongin did not feel fear. At least no more fear than a human meeting a street dog. Perhaps it would attack, perhaps it would lick your face. Most likely, it would run away. However, Jongin only had one thought in his mind as he turned and risked getting lost again: What if that meal had been human?

 

**$**

 

“Lu Han! Lu Han!” Jongin yelled as he made his way into a park that was usually sparsely populated at night. He could see Lu Han walking down one of the paths ahead of him, trench coat pulled tight around him to hide all the fancy leather and weapons he carried, but not the length of his heels. For a second, Jongin was stricken by how difficult it might be for someone to tell Lu Han's gender if not for the adam's apple, but even that was covered up. He wondered if that was part of the point in dressing like Lu Han did, but he stopped those thoughts when Lu Han looked over to him, phone halfway to his ear.

 

“Jongin?”

 

Jongin hurried over and grabbed Lu Han's arm. “Lu Han, I don't know how I found you, but I did. I've got something to tell you.”

 

“You could have called,” Lu Han said. The place Lu Han danced wasn’t that far from the park. There were too many trees in the park to be a proper area for performances and so it was often abandoned in favor of the large sidewalks under the nearby overpass. Jongin had headed in that direction hoping he’d see the hunter there.  “What happened, you seem a bit tired.”

 

Jongin took in a deep breath then sighed. “Oh, just some family stuff.”

 

“So you found out about your father proclaiming you the heir in front of the media?” Lu Han asked with eyelashes fluttering and bottom lip jutted out worried.

 

“Yes I did, but this isn't about the paparazzi that's been taking pictures of me all day. I saw something when I ran away from them,” Jongin insisted.

 

“Paparazzi? Reporters? You really don't need that following you around when you're still a fresh vampire,” Lu Han said. “I can get Suho to pay them off for now.”

 

Jongin waved his hands. “No, no, just listen to me for a moment. When I was getting away from them, I started messing around with all that cool vampire stuff you said I got. I scaled a wall and on the other side was...Well, I think I saw a werewolf.”

 

“Werewolf? Oh.” Lu Han's response was lackluster. He pursed his lips and tapped a toe.

 

“What? Do you think it was a werewolf that's been killing people lately? The news did say it was similar to a wild animal attack and if vampires can exist, why not werewolves, unless you're going to tell me that werewolves don't exist.”

 

“No, werewolves exist as do a couple other werebeasts.”

 

“So do you think it was a werewolf? Should I start carrying silver knives with me?” Jongin asked hopeful that their problems were solved.

 

“We don't hunt werewolves,” Lu Han said and smiled softly. “You know what, I'm glad you came. Since we're partners in this now, I should have called you, but you were suppose to still be at work. I want you to meet someone.”

 

Jongin looked at Lu Han confused. They didn't hunt werewolves? Well, they didn't hunt vampires either. “Okay, who is it.”

 

Lu Han gestured into a dark area of the park. Jongin stared, focusing his eyes and saw the large furry creature strolling towards them. As it came closer to the light, Jongin witnessed again it's horrendous transformation back into a man, a man wearing leathers similar to Lu Han's, but not as tight, cut to accommodate the transformation. He smiled at them both with curved lips and tilted his square cut jaw in a greeting.

 

“It's been a while, Jongdae,” Lu Han greeted.

 

This werewolf, this Jongdae, chuckled. “Only a few months, but I'm sure Baekhyun's whining has made it seem longer. I have to do pack stuff every now and then. I am their oldest living alpha after all.”

 

“Yes, he'll be thrilled to know you're back. You won't be able to leave your room, which is why I asked you out before you announced you were back,” Lu Han said and gestured to Jongin. “This is Kim Jongin, a new vampire under Suho's sect.”

 

“Suho's sect, hmmm?” Jongdae hummed. “He doesn't smell like them, smells more like you, but maybe that's just because you're feeding him.”

 

Jongin glanced at Lu Han and caught his blush before the Hunter straightened up. “Either way, we apologize for having to call you back early, but we need your help on this case. Zitao's not ready to be out on the field without Yixing close by unless it’s an extremity. We have him doing computer work, and Yifan's doing the higher ups' work since they're all in hiding right now.”

 

“I understand and I don't mind. I missed my home and my lover and when you're a feeder, you start missing the feel of fangs and venom in your skin, but I think your boyfriend's confused about who I am,” Jongdae said.

 

“He's not my boy—,” Lu Han started, but Jongin cut him off. He was okay with people thinking he was Lu Han's boyfriend, less competition that way though he was hardly thinking about doing something about his crush when the guy he had thought might be the culprit was suddenly talking nice right in front of him.

 

“I am confused, who are you? I swear I just saw you making a meal out of a fresh kill.”

 

Jongdae rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah yes, I thought I sensed someone. I am a werewolf and if you haven't noticed, tonight is a full moon. You happened to catch me enjoying my hunt. I won't elaborate on what it was, but I haven't had human blood in years better yet human flesh. I am also a Monster Hunter. I'm an immortal werewolf.”

 

“Jongdae is one of the handful of werewolves that have been turned into a vampire and one of even fewer to be turned back. Lycanthropy is a gene transformation not a poison one so there is no cure for that. They tend to breed more werewolves than create, however.”

 

“You have to get your blood into the other person's bone marrow,” Jongdae said. “It doesn't always work, but you can't revert it. You’d have to get real scientific to do it and no one is quite there yet. But, as a werewolf you live pretty humanly.”

 

Jongin sighed. “So you're here to find who killed my apprentice?”

 

“Yes, among other people. I'm sorry if I scared you, but I'm less of a threat than you. I'm here to be quite literally a dog.” Jongdae tapped his nose. “Vampires tend to use their sense of sight and feel more than smell. Their smell gets distracted easily so it can’t be trusted and most Hunters aren't much better, but I still can smell just as good if not better than any werewolf. But, if you'll excuse me, I'll take this night to hunt and sniff out more places.”

 

“That would be great,” Lu Han agreed and turned to Jongin. Jongin was surprised when Lu Han lifted a hand and brushed a few strands of Jongin’s hair back. “You're stressed right? Are you thirsty?”

 

Jongin grinned. “Well, I'm not going to say no if you're offering.”

 

Lu Han rolled his eyes, but removed half of his trench coat and rolled up a black silk sleeve to reveal pretty veins in his wrist. “Not on the actual joint.”

 

Jongin took Lu Han's arm delicately and lifted it to his lips, kissing the spot he planned to bite and glanced at Lu Han's reaction. His small fangs, signs of what he use to be, were nibbling at his bottom lip as he watched Jongin, but he wasn’t pulling away or complaining. Jongin licked the spot, teasing, feeling the jump in Lu Han's pulse, then bit down.

 

**$**

 

Jongin was startled out of his potato chip trance when something was suddenly smacked down on the break room table. He looked up to see Lu Han towering over him looking none too pleased. “You okay, Lu Han?”

 

Lu Han sighed and gestured to the paper he'd slammed on the table. “Hard work doesn't pay off sometimes. Anyways, take that and leave. Your father canceled your lesson for today and decided you're going on a date.”

 

“Date? I don't want to go on a date.” Jongin picked up the paper. It had a picture of one of the girls he remembered from the engagement files he'd had to pretend to enjoy to get his father off his back with an address and time.

 

“You can't refuse. She's the daughter of a really rich socialite. You have to at least go on the date,” Lu Han said and crossed his arms. “You'll need to tell your boss to let you out early. Just be boring or something if you're not interested.”

 

Jongin wanted to smile, but he didn't want to give way to delusions. Was Lu Han really having a bad day or was he just upset that Jongin had to go on a date? “Alright, I understand. Can I feed then if I'm getting kicked out of the bank? Dates are stressful.”

 

“It hasn’t been long enough to feed again,” Lu Han said.

 

“A hug?” Jongin asked, eyes wide and head tilted.

 

Lu Han rolled his eyes, but there was a hint of a grin on his lips. “No,” he said and left the room.

 

For the actual date, Jongin dressed as casual as he could for the fancy restaurant indicated on the paper. He wore a white sweater with a patterned shirt underneath and the strangest tie he could find. Jongin didn't bother redying his hair that had gone past the blond from before and was now platinum and even added one of the ear cuffs he use to wear when he was in high school to give him a bit of an edge. The girl he was to dine with seemed sweet and he found she was ridiculously nice when he actually arrived at the table fifteen minutes late.

 

“Oh, you're very fashionable,” the girl said.

 

“Seulgi, right?” Jongin asked as he slid into the seat across from her.

 

“Yes, and you're Jongin. My, from the pictures I thought you were a much more serious looking boy. I'm glad you're not. I have to marry that kind and I'm not really ready for that sort of thing,” Seulgi said.

 

Jongin as surprised. “Oh, then why did you agree to the date?”

 

“Hmm, dates are nice. Also, I don't have to get married right away, but it's good to look don't you think?” she said and sipped her water. “Oh, I ordered an appetizer, but if you wanted more food, the waiter should be back soon.”

 

Jongin settled in. “No, I'm not very hungry. I'm glad you feel that way though. I'm interested in someone, but as you know, I've just been officially announced heir to the Kim Eun Bank so I don't want to start that off dating.” Bullshit. Jongin didn't even want to be the heir. At least, he hadn't decided if he did or not, yet even if he’d agreed to get Yifan a loan.

 

“Alright, let's just be friends for now. I haven't hung out with anyone in months. All my friends are busy right now and one's even in America,” Seulgi said.

 

“Okay, let's be friends,” Jongin agreed. This would be a lot easier than having to walk the line of flirting and disgusting whoever his date was. And, Lu Han might be less angry with him if he knew Seulgi hadn't been interested either. That was if Lu Han cared. Jongin thought he did.

 

An hour and a half later, Jongin agreed to walk Seulgi to a taxi. The front entrance had reporters so they went out the back way. They were having a good time, but there was no need to have it misreported that they were actually dating.

 

“It's a bit empty tonight,” Seulgi said as they walked staying a bit closer to Jongin. “It's not my first time walking alleys, but usually I'm with my girlfriends.”

 

“Are you scared?”

 

“I don't know. I'm use to hearing giggling or drunk people. The only time I know of the alleys being this quiet in this area is if people are doing something shady.”

 

Jongin frowned. He couldn't feel anyone around. “I don’t think we have to worry about that.”

 

“No, but what about that murderer,” Seulgi said. “That might be why no one is back here.”

 

“I'm pretty good at fighting, so you can just run and call the police,” Jongin said.

 

“Should I not give them your name?” she asked and Jongin detected a hint of fear in her voice. “You’re a person of importance.”

 

“No, it's best not. I really can deal with it myself.”

 

“I hope so because that looks terrifying,” Seulgi said and pointed down the alley in front of them.

 

Jongin focused in the dark. He could see something shift and glitter, hovering over a body, but it was too dark even for his eyes to really make out at this distance. He knew more just from sensing them. A female figure hunched over a male's. They were moving. Well, one of them were, the other was dead.

 

“Run,” Jongin said and just then the female figure turned her head caught sight of them. She stood slowly.

 

“I'm...going to run now. Please be okay,” Seulgi said before dashing off.

 

Jongin was glad she had trusted him and didn't try to stay and help, but also that she wasn't stupid enough not to save her own hide first. He wasn't sure if he really would be okay, but maybe he'd live. He was a vampire and still not sure what could actually kill him. The female figure's gaze followed after Seulgi. In a flash, it launched from it's spot in the darkness halfway to where Jongin was standing now cast in one of the back lights of the shops with the air conditioning from the same shop blowing air back onto them. Jongin got a whiff. Garlic. An Italian restaurant? And then at the very end, perfume, much too sweet, like rotted sugar.

 

Jongin's heart started to race, he wanted to run.

 

The figure that stood cast in the light matched the smell to a T. Their skin was white, going on gray and pulled taut against little muscle other than on their legs where it bulged comically. It was a female, Jongin could see that very clearly with piercings decorating their lower area and in their belly, nipples,  and collarbone. Rows and rows of bangles and bracelets decorated the creature’s arms and ankles. They had long hair as white as Jongin's, but made out of something that made it move like tendrils of milk dancing in water. They only thing they wore other than the jewelry was a mask showing one eye, it may have been blue, but it was covered in a milky film. The mask itself was decorated with crystals and small chains holding it to the creature's head, but it was all stained in blood, just like the gaping fang filled mouth that was shown where the jaw piece of the mask unhooked. The creature opened its mouth wider and screamed at Jongin showing more of those rows and rows of sharp teeth then lifted its clawed sloth like hands and bounded towards Jongin.

 

He wanted to run.

 

Seulgi needed time though.

 

Jongin took in a deep breath and let that part of his mind that screamed blood drinking monster leak out. He hadn't been taught how to fight, he hadn't been taught to use any of his powers. Lu Han was busy with the case and Jongin didn't know how long it had been since Lu Han had changed into a Hunter, but Jongin realized, as his nails grew and he hissed back at this strange creature, that he needed to know.

 

He needed to get stronger.

 

The creature leapt pass Jongin, but Jongin reached up and buried his nails into its leg pulling it down. It screamed and turned on Jongin. Jongin stood his ground and glared at the creature. It jumped at him with terrifying claws stretched out and teeth ready to bite, but Jongin found it easy to move out of the way. Had he been farther down the alley, perhaps this creature would be able to jump with enough accuracy to catch him, but Jongin understood that whatever this was, it had no power in close combat especially with the tinkling of its excessive jewelry. Powerful jumps were nothing if Jongin had time to move out of the way and Jongin did over and over until he got a chance and reached out scratching the creature across the shoulder then chest ripping out a piercing. It backed up and made a sound of pain then reached out for Jongin with those claws, but they were so large they left so much space to attack. Jongin jumped and reached down scratching at the creature's jaw. The mask caught on Jongin's hand and fell away as he landed. The creature covered its face. It looked up with both it's milky eyes between the spaces of its claws. It seemed angry. It ran at Jongin, but didn't hit him. Instead, it scooped up it's mask and jumped in the opposite direction that Seulgi had gone.

 

Jongin looked after the creature for only a moment before pulling himself together. First, he had to make sure Seulgi was safe. Then, he had to tell Lu Han. And before morning, Jongin decided he'd make an appointment with Kim Junmyeon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated.


	10. Argumentum Ex Silentio

**10. _Argumentum Ex Silentio_**

 

    There was a gym in the basement of Kim Junmyeon's residence. Jongin followed Sehun and Chanyeol out of the elevator when they arrived and briefly considered running back. It was something like a cross between a Pokemon gym and a BDSM dungeon. The floor level had patterns and obstacles and the floor itself looked like it could break away to reveal water or fire with two podiums on either side. Up top were chains and hanging weapons with triggers so they could come zooming down. And there were other compartments, one across from the elevator housed Kim Junmyeon himself along with his lover watching them through glass windows.

 

“Take all your clothes off then put this on,” Sehun said and threw a pair of jegging capris at Jongin in a shiny stretchy black material.

 

“What is this?” Jongin asked.

 

“Unless you want to walk out of here in torn up clothes, put them on or go naked.”

 

Jongin did as told facing away from Sehun and Chanyeol. He had contacted Kim Junmyeon as soon as he'd gotten home after the attack. It was hard to relay everything he'd seen back to the vampires and Jongin questioned why he didn't call Lu Han first when that was his initial intention, but he wanted to hit two birds with one stone. The vampires could forward the information to the Monster Hunters and Jongin could ask for fighting lessons at the same time. It had been the Minseok guy that answered, but he had only teased Jongin for a second before registering the seriousness of his voice and scheduled him for the very next day. Jongin was met at the lobby of the condos by Oh Sehun and Park Chanyeol dressed tall and almost menacingly and they had led him immediately down here.

 

“Done?” Sehun asked.

 

Jongin turned and looked the other two vampires over. They were taller than him, but not by much, and they're physiques were about the same, though Sehun and Chanyeol didn't have the softness laying off the exercise for a while got you. It must be a vampire thing, Jongin assumed, he had been losing his softness as well. But, Jongin noticed the jegging pants were quite snug in the groin area, though it appeared Chanyeol could cover it. Sehun was not so lucky with his pants, or perhaps he was lucky. Or Chanyeol was lucky.

 

“Good evening, Kim Jongin,” Junmyeon said from the room opposite them through a microphone that echoed throughout the underground training arena. “I am pleased that you have chosen our help. That information you gave us will keep the Monster Hunters busy, but we're pleased to take over your training. I understand why you would want to get stronger. As you may have guessed, Sehun and Chanyeol act as my bodyguards. They are loyal to me only second to each other. They are my best fighters. They can beat even me, but only together. You will train with them until you have learned to separate them. By next week I hope to have you with Minseok, my secretary and my ex-assassin. There isn't a need for such a thing now, I find, but he'll be happy to show you his tricks.”

 

“Alright, but if it's just normal fighting, I know how to do that,” Jongin said.

 

“Oh, in that case there won't be a need for a handicap. Chanyeol, give him the collar.”

 

Chanyeol held a large heavy looking metal collar towards Jongin. Jongin held his hands out to block it, but they were grabbed by Sehun and the collar was snapped onto his neck. He scratched at it. The weight of the collar made his neck and shoulders hurt. “What is this?”

 

“Since we won't be starting with a handicap, I shall bring your attention to the shiny objects hanging from the top floor. Sporadically, I will be allowing Kyungsoo to drop them on you and the others so not only will you be fighting two vampires, but dodging falling, potentially fatal, debris. The collar is to keep anything from slicing off your head. Vampires can not die. That is about ninety percent the truth. Their very existence must be converted into something else, but we regenerate so quickly, it is difficult to do such a thing. However, your apprentice was killed before she was properly a vampire. Her spinal cord was chewed causing the signals for the regeneration to be blocked. If your head is cut off and not reattached correctly, you will cease to exist. If you were to be chained in direct sunlight for days and days, your healing ability would be slowed and killing you would be possible, but we never have that much sunlight. A steak through the heart only puts you in a coma and makes you vulnerable. You're asleep. It must be a very thick steak to block full blood flow. As soon as it is removed, you'll heal. These are the things you must watch out for. And one more thing: vampire blood. Think of it as puffer fish meat.”

 

“So, you're saying I'm going to get stabbed a lot tonight,” Jongin said and rubbed his naked chest.

 

He could see Junmyeon chuckle though the sound didn't come through the intercom. “Yes. And it will hurt. Eventually, you will get use to it. I do feel sorry for Lu Han, you'll want to feed everyday.”

 

“Can I start dropping knives on them yet?” Kyungsoo asked, voice coming through the intercom.

 

“Chanyeol, Sehun, snap on collars as well then start.”

 

Sehun and Chanyeol eyed each other then sighed grabbing collars as well.

 

“The dark prince doesn't like us much,” Sehun said.

 

“He likes us, he just thinks we're annoying,” Chanyeol said and smiled.

 

They both jumped down onto the bottom of the arena and took their place on the two podiums. Jongin looked at the distance from the platform where the elevator had stopped and the arena floor then jumped. He landed with only a slight sense of impact in his legs and shook himself.

 

“How is fighting two vampires the same as fighting that thing I fought yesterday,” Jongin asked looking between the two lovers.

 

“It's not,” Chanyeol said and his eyes went from smiling to full blown irises as he took a stance and bared his fangs.

 

“We don't know what it is for certain, so we can't train you for it,” Sehun said and mirrored Chanyeol.

 

Not for certain, but they had a clue. Jongin wished they would tell him, but maybe they still didn't trust him. He sighed and took a breath. Iron and sweat and the dampness of a dark place entered his breath. He bared his teeth and growled.

 

Thirty minutes went by before Kyungsoo started to drop the knives. Jongin found fighting off Sehun and Chanyeol difficult, but they were teaching him, not sparing with him. Their movements were slow and matched like choreography they had performed time and time again. They had probably grown bored of it. Jongin could match their rhythm, but he wasn't use to moving this fast or being able to see this well or feel them. There were so many senses that he hadn't noticed he was using fighting that masked creature as adrenaline had taken over. They got all scrambled now that he didn't feel like his life was on the line. Well, not until the knives started falling, and mallets and mauls and things Jongin didn't know the name of but he was sure someone would get off to seeing. The iron smell turned into that of blood, his blood, not even a scratch on Sehun and Chanyeol as they fought him glistening more and more with dust like sweat, nails long, much longer than Jongin's, almost the size of a pocket knife. Jongin found himself on the floor many times losing his balance when weapons came whizzing by and barely managed to dodge them and then he didn't.

 

Jongin's scream scared even him. There was a blade like an ax cut clean through his shoulder. He could feel the cold metal of it against his skin and bone. He shivered at that feeling. Something touching his bone felt so unnatural. It hurt more than the vampire bite. A few seconds later and he could feel the stretching of skin as his shoulder tried to repair itself.

 

“Yixing!”

 

Out of another room, Jongin saw the shadow of a figure jump out and rush to his side. Sehun and Chanyeol hovered over him and they tugged the blade free. The movement hurt twice as much as the initial infliction and Jongin screamed again. Soft hands held his shoulder and pressed on his arm. His arm. He hadn't been able to feel his arm for a good few seconds, but it was back now. Jongin turned his head and watched the tissue fuse back together along with an already mended bone.

 

The intercom squeaked back on. “I do apologize, Kim Jongin. I instructed Kyungsoo not to drop anything that could actually slice through your body, but he's a trigger happy fellow.”

 

Jongin looked up into the room where Junmyeon was. Kyungsoo didn't look the least bit sorry. Jongin almost wished he hadn’t punched Kyungsoo before. Almost

 

Yixing held out a hand. “You can get up. I knew I needed to be here when Junmyeon said he was bringing Kyungsoo along.”

 

Jongin took the hand and brushed himself off once back on his feet. “Thanks for the...well, my arm.”

 

Yixing patted it, but it was sore. “You heal fast, but don't come to training tomorrow if it’s still sore. It's Friday, you should go see Lu Han.”

 

Jongin's eyes widened. “You know about that?”

 

Yixing smiled. “Ah, so you are that Jongin. Lu Han's always talked about a cute kid that liked to dance and was always watching him. A feeding and a date, how about it?”

 

Jongin coughed. “I...how exactly did he talk about me?”

 

“Are you trying to play cupid again, Yixing?” Sehun asked coming up behind Jongin with Chanyeol and they both laid hands on his shoulders. The recently chopped off one stung a bit.

 

“Well, with Yifan being a prude and Minseok being too forward, they're not going to go anywhere if we keep pushing them. Might as well switch to someone else. It gets boring around here,” Chanyeol said. “I did think Lu Han had a crush.”

 

Jongin's heart leapt, but he felt woozy and confused from fighting and literally having his arm chopped off. “Can I go home?”

 

Chanyeol and Sehun moved away and Yixing took Jongin's arm. The not recently detached one. “I'll take him home. Zitao's doing better, but I want to get back to him as well.”

 

They left the arena and Jongin only allowed himself to think about the recent words Yixing had expressed when they started to ascend in the elevator. Lu Han had a crush and that crush might be him.

 

**$**

 

Lu Han's moves dragged. It wasn't so much that Lu Han looked clumsy or didn't hit his points right, but Jongin could see it in Lu Han's eyes. It was all muscle memory as he danced. Jongin had been surprised Lu Han even managed to drag himself to his usual spot under the overpass to dance with how busy he had seemed after Jongin had told everyone about the creature he’d fought with. They had barely shared a hello at the bank or talked over the phone about whatever Lu Han was doing for the Monster Hunters without Jongin. He wondered why Lu Han had yet to start bringing him along. They were suppose to be partners or something like that. Jongin figured it might involve him needing to understand his powers as a vampire and he was doing the best he could at that. He'd ignored Yixing's advice and had gone to two more practices with Sehun and Chanyeol and he was suppose to go to another one tonight, but they could wait. Lu Han was here and he was dancing, and if he got stabbed one more time through the stomach, Jongin didn't think even Lu Han's blood would be enough to fully heal the injuries.

 

Lu Han stopped not long into his routine. He looked tired and ready to jet and Jongin felt bad for asking for blood. Jongin felt like it might seem like a booty call in some ways. He had done those before, but Jongin didn't really care for it. At least a dinner first. A dinner. He could do that. Jongin had always wanted to ask Lu Han out to eat. He didn't have to make it a date. He wasn't sure if Lu Han liked him that way or if Lu Han was even into men, but Yixing and the tall lovers seemed to infer it. And he could always just ask Lu Han those things.They knew even deeper secrets about each other than that.

 

Jongin pushed himself off the wall behind Lu Han's set up and approached him. “Lu Han.”

 

Lu Han turned and smiled warily. “Oh, Jongin, I wasn't sure if you'd be here tonight.”

 

“Can't you feel when I'm here?” Jongin asked and grinned.

 

“Well, yes, but you had a good date with that girl the other night, I mean, besides the attack, right?” Lu Han asked. He wasn't looking at Jongin directly and that made Jongin curious.

 

“Yeah, it wasn't bad. She wasn't really hitting on me or anything. I don't often have good interactions with women, so it was nice.”

 

“Exactly, and you saved her so I thought maybe...but she doesn't remember that part,” Lu Han said and trailed off.

 

“What do you mean she doesn't remember? And of course I saved her, you think I'd let someone get killed in front of me?”

 

Lu Han's eyes widened then he rubbed his forehead. “No, no you wouldn't do that. Uh, fairies, we know some, they can lock away memories. They're good at hypnosis. We can't have her talking about that incident, but she still needs to remember it if we need more information, so it's just locked, the details. She thinks it was just some hooligans.”

 

“Oh....fairies, too?” Jongin asked.

 

“Yes, along with a few more, but they're rare. I...did you need to feed? You've been practicing with Sehun and Chanyeol, right? And Kyungsoo. I don't know Kyungsoo well, but he's definitely not someone who goes easy on people.”

 

Jongin rubbed his stomach where the maul had bore into him the day before and the knife the day before that. “Yeah, tell me about it. And I do need to feed, but...Lu Han, do you want to get coffee?”

 

Lu Han blinked at Jongin and his brows furrowed. “You don’t drink coffee.”

 

Jongin groaned. “Right, yeah, I don’t. Uh, bubble tea then. Just, do you want to go with me somewhere for a few minutes and sit?”

 

He could feel Lu Han's eyes scanning him as he waited for the hunter's reply. Finally, Lu Han smiled.

 

“Yeah, I love bubble tea.”

 

Jongin led them to the nearest bubble tea shop close to the overpass. He held the door opened (Lu Han held the other one open as a group of girls walked out giggling at them), pulled out a seat (Lu Han slid into a booth instead), and went to order for them both (only managed because he knew Lu Han's order by heart and blurted it out before Lu Han could insist in coming, but Lu Han probably thought him creepy for knowing it). When he got back, Lu Han was texting on his phone, only his fingers showing through the long sleeves of his colorful windbreaker.

 

“Is it the bank or the hunters?” Jongin asked.

 

“Oh, I was just making sure I didn't have anything for work tomorrow,” Lu Han said and pocketed it. He took his drink, inspected it and wrinkled his nose pleasantly when it appeared Jongin had got it right before taking a sip. “Speaking of the hunters, though, I guess now is a good time to ask you about that creature you saw.”

 

“Do you guys have any idea what it was?” Jongin asked.

 

“We do, but I've personally never fought one before and no one in the hunter society has fought one outside of the countryside. There's only been one confirmed outbreak in the past decade in Korea and that was North Korea. We think they may have evolved.”

 

“What are they?” Jongin asked.

 

Lu Han pressed his lips together. “I'd rather not say until we know for sure. Describe it again for me.”

 

Jongin frowned. He didn't want secrets kept from him like this. “They were white. Whiter than Kim Junmyeon and like someone with anorexia, but real bad. Except their legs. It was as if all of what they had been eating went straight to their legs. This one was a female. She had a lot of piercings and jewelry and a mask. Oh and two claws like a sloths. They were really long.”

 

“How many fingers did they have?” Lu Han asked.

 

“Um...I really only saw their claws,” Jongin said.

 

“Okay, eye color?”

 

“Milky. Maybe blue, but they were so glazed over I couldn't tell,” Jongin said. “What was it?”

 

Lu Han sipped his drink as he thought. “To be honest, Yifan hasn't given us a name for the creature. Zitao's the one that's been contacting everyone on the outside and Jongdae's sniffing it out. I've been busy getting funding for this and covering up the police reports for that victim.”

 

“What about that person's family?” Jongin asked. “They should know about them.”

 

“Currently, it's a missing person case. We'll go the full week before lifting the glamour on the body. Again, a fairy thing.”

 

“Who's the fairy?” Jongin asked.

 

Lu Han just smiled at that. “They keep a low profile. We don't give them our names and they don't give us theirs. We can hunt them.”

 

Jongin frowned and sipped his drink. There were other questions about the case, but it seemed the hunters were being careful with information. He could ask the other things. It was just a question and, if Jongin thought about it, most of the vampires and hunters he'd met were at least interested in the same sex.

 

“Lu Han, are same sex relationships not frowned upon with magical creatures?”

 

“Oh, there are straight people, probably more heterosexuals than anything else because of breeding needs, but if you're talking specifically immortals, then yes. When you can live for an undisclosed amount of time, it doesn't really matter who you've taken as a lover. Hunters can't have children anyways, one of the effects of the transformation, and only born vampires can give birth to born vampires. It doesn't matter whether the father was a created vampire or a born one.”

 

“There are born vampires? Is Kim Junmyeon a born vampire? Is that why you call him Suho?”

 

“Oh, no history lessons from those guys I see,” Lu Han said. “Yes, though we don't know how the first vampire came to be, the most logical theory is either a mutation that caused the venom or a curse. Through science, werewolves and vampires are the only humanoid creatures we classify as human. Hyper humans, you could say. It's hard to do science in secret though. Children don't happen often. If the female wasn't born a vampire, they usually lose the child or it comes out a human in the rare chance it survives. And if the female is human, sometimes the baby will suck her dry and then they both die if the baby doesn't poison her first and cause the change, but it won’t make it. Otherwise, it's human. The vampire baby never survives though unless birthed between a born vampire mother and a vampire father of any sort. Kim Junmyeon is a very long living made vampire and as so has been made a guardian. Out of respect, Suho, his vampire name. After achieving certain tasks, you’re given a nickname or one just sticks.”

 

“So you are kind of like his children then in a way. Your sect is your family.”

 

“Yes,” Lu Han agreed. “That's how most vampires view it.”

 

Jongin sipped his drink. He could do this. Lu Han was comfortable with the topic. Right? “What about you?”

 

“Me? Oh, no children for me. I already said I couldn't have them.”

 

“Not children, lovers. Are you interested in a male lover.”

 

Lu Han choked on his drink and stared at Jongin with wide eyes. “Why do you ask that?”

 

Jongin shrugged, but grinned. He couldn't help it. He reached across the table and took Lu Han's hand, pulled down his sleeve, and traced a spot of skin near his wrist with his thumb. “I thought maybe you might be interested in a male lover.”

 

“What if I was?” Lu Han asked. He was staring at Jongin's thumb against his wrist, his voice forcefully steady. “I'm not against it.”

 

Their booth was in the corner of the bubble tea shop. If Jongin angled himself right, no one would see. He brought Lu Han's wrist to his mouth, kissed it, then licked the spot he'd been rubbing. He lowered his voice with the next words, the smell of Lu Han's skin and the feel of his blood flowing beneath his lips intoxicating. “And what if that lover was me?”

 

“Jongin!” Lu Han gasped.

 

Jongin didn't wait for Lu Han to answer. He bit down and felt the pleasure. Pleasure. Lu Han felt pleasure when Jongin bit him.

 

**$**

 

Jongin was elated when he got home, the taste of Lu Han's blood still on his tongue. The hunter had been, dare he say it, adorable excusing himself. Lu Han kept furrowing his brows and biting his bottom lip. Even if he didn't have a crush on Jongin, Jongin at least felt it was safe to assume Lu Han was attracted to him. The taste he hadn't been able to quite pin point the first time he'd directly fed from Lu Han had to be pleasure. He was getting better at knowing these things.

 

The house was dark and quiet save for one light Jongin figured his mother had left on for him as she often did. He had gone to practice after meeting with Lu Han. This late, he had assumed his mother would be home, but, when he thought back on it, she may have taken up a date with one of his father's acquaintances. If she had chosen to go home with them, Jongin wouldn't blame her, not after so many years and so many dates. He just hoped she was safe. Jongin started towards the room the shut the light off and froze seeing his mother laid across the couch in a cocktail dress, nursing a glass of red wine with a half filled bottle on the coffee table in front with a file laid next to it. She sat up when she noticed Jongin.

 

“Well, it's good of you to come home for once,” she said brushing at some of the waves that had fallen down from a fancy bun she had done up on top of her head.

 

“I come home most nights,” Jongin said. He had just been coming home late. He still found it hard to sleep for long periods of time during the night and he wanted to practice more, learn more about being a vampire.

 

His mother scoffed. “What are you doing so late at night anyways? Gallivanting around? It seems you're pretty chummy with that pretty girl at your minimum wage job. She certainly does show a lot of skin though in those short dresses.”

 

“Well, she's my boss. Would you rather I get fired?” Jongin asked. It felt like one of her usual lectures were coming on though he'd never had to deal with her drunk before. He never saw his mother drinking anything more than one or two glasses of wine. She hated the stuff as much as Jongin did with more of a reason. “Wait, why do you know what she wears?”

 

“Haven't you noticed the paparazzi?” his mother asked. “They've been following me around as well.”

 

Jongin frowned. He had thought maybe the reporters would focus on him, but his mother use to love the attention when she got use to it after the first announcement of Kim Eunjoon accepting his bastard son. “I did go on a date the other night, mother, if you're worried about that line of things. I did not hate it.” That was mostly because Seulgi had asked for it to be between friends.

 

“Oh yes, we've all heard about your heroics saving that girl from a suspicious person. Very chivalrous of you, but what is chivalry without loyalty?”

 

“Loyalty?” Jongin asked. Usually these lectures were of Jongin being stupid or not serious enough. But disloyalty was one thing she had never accused him of before.

 

His mother picked up the file and threw it closer to him on the coffee table. Jongin picked it up and stared wide eyed at the images inside. They were pictures of him heading out of Kim Junmyeon's condo with Sehun and Chanyeol and one picture of him even with Kim Junmyeon himself without all the old man makeup. They were late night photos. He’d been training.

 

“Those tall boys are the bodyguards of Kim Ho's heir. The nephew of their current CEO is the shorter blond one recently home from schooling at Harvard, but I'm sure you know that. What are you doing hanging out with the heir of your bank's rival, Kim Jongin? And so carelessly, too. Are they paying you to leak information? Are they trying to give you a job? What is it that your father's company can't give you?”

 

“I...” Jongin wasn't sure how to answer it. He was surprised to hear Junmyeon planned to succeed his own bank pretending to be a nephew, but he was more surprised to be caught hanging around them. He thought he’d felt all the reporters, but he was still knew at being a vampire and he doubted Junmyeon would care if they were caught together. The man seemed to have his own agenda. Jongin didn't have an excuse for this. “We're just friends.”

 

“Damn it, Jongin, you can't make friends with your enemy!” His mother stood up and slammed her wine glass hard onto the coffee table, droplets of the red liquid splashing out. She looked at Jongin angrily. “Do you know what I've gone through to get you here? I had to marry a man barely too young to be my grandfather with little money who continuously tried to seduce me. He didn't try to rape me, but it was disgusting to have to put up with him touching me and saying things. And the words my family said when I got married would be enough to make anyone second guess whether they should be alive. I was forced to see a doctor and take medicines. I didn't know for sure if he'd ever come find you, ever come and unlock me from the cage he forced me in. Everything has always been planned by that man! And I was stupid enough to believe him when he said he'd make my dreams come true.”

 

“Mother,” Jongin said softly and reached out towards her.

 

“Don't touch me! Don't come near me! I should have never raised you if you're just going to ruin the tiniest bit of success I have in my life. The one thing that locked me in the cage was the one thing I wanted and that man knew it. I wanted a son, I wanted his son. He'll disown you and me if you betray him,” his mother yelled. She looked like she might start crying. Jongin's heart squeezed in his chest.

 

“Mother,” he repeated.

 

“Don't call me that!” she yelled then looked away and held her head, pressing her palm against her eyes. Her voice lowered. “I'm not even your real mother.”

 

Ice hardened his veins. Jongin hoped he hadn't heard her right. “Say that again.”

 

His mother looked up at him then her eyes went wide and she covered her mouth and shook her head.

 

Jongin gritted his teeth and curled his hands into fists. He closed his eyes not sure if his irises had grown, but he couldn't let her see that. “Say it again. Say that I'm not your son.”

 

There was a sound like the squeak of a mouse, but much sadder. “I'm sorry, Jongin.”

 

The ice melted in Jongin's veins and he looked at the woman he'd called mother for twenty-five years. She was crying and Jongin rushed forward to pull her petite frame into his arms.

 

“I'm sorry, Jongin,” she repeated. “I'm so sorry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated.


	11. Ab Irato

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what happened to chapter 11 on Tuesday, so here it is again and I'll post chapter 12 in a minute.

**11. _Ab Irato_**

 

    There was no sleeping in for Jongin the next two days. The only sleep he got was dozing with his mother's frame in his arms as she cried herself to sleep that night. Most of the time, he had laid in bed for countless hours furiously staring up at the ceiling until he got fed up and started digging through their house the moment his mother left for some get together or another. He went to his studio after to boil his rage off with dancing to the point that he could look the part of the heir of Kim Eun Bank come monday morning instead of a raging pile of emotionally distressed young adult. But, was he even the heir? If he didn't have his mother's blood, did he even have that man's? Even if they had an uncanny physical similarity, that wasn't enough to prove their blood relation one hundred percent. Blood test documents were, though. He ran to the bank just as dawn broke, moving in the shadows like he'd been taught and waited across the street until the bank opened. Breaths of cold air filled his lungs, cooling his hot head as he made his way to the entrance. Jongin had never felt this angry before. It was a cold anger that began to sublime the moment he walked into the bank. He may have thought he was a murderer before, but now he felt murderous. He only hoped he wouldn't attack Kim Eunjoon depending on what the man’s response was.

 

Getting past security was natural though they seemed surprised to see him there so early. The announcement of Jongin's official placement as the heir had only happened last week, but he could be starting new training today for all they knew. Jongin wasn't sure if Lu Han was around that early. He hadn't contacted anyone and skipped out on lessons in the gym below Junmyeon's condo for the whole weekend. There was nothing to tell them since his mother refused to say anything more to Jongin than apologies. He could have gone to his father's house, Jongin knew where he lived, but he didn't want to bother Mrs. Kim and their servants and he could be kicked out. He owned part of this bank now, he couldn't be kicked out without a stir and his father would have to talk to him if he wanted to get any work done. There weren't reporters in the building, but if he made a scene, the reporters outside would surely know.

 

“Oh, Kim Jongin,” the secretary, a lady ten years his senior greeted him seated before the hall that led to his father's office. Her eyes roamed up and down Jongin’s form, examining him longer than the usual two seconds she had before.“You don't have any appointments scheduled until next week.”

 

“I need to see my father,” Jongin said.

 

“I'm sorry, but he's not available right now. Perhaps some book work until he has an opportunity? I can show you how to read the old fashioned bank books we keep,” the secretary said and smiled. He’d never seen her smile.

 

“When's his first meeting?” Jongin asked.

 

“At ten.”

 

“Is he in his office?”

 

“Yes, doing paperwork I believe. He wished not to be disturbed.”

 

Jongin wasn't in the mood to use his vampire charms to convince the secretary to let him see his own father. He walked around her desk and headed down the hall. “He can do paperwork later.”

 

“Wait!”

 

Jongin didn't. He could hear the secretary quickly punching in keys to her phone probably calling his father. That was fine. Let the old man know he was coming. Jongin forced the door open and stared at his father, his emotions now oddly calm actually faced with the person he currently despised the most.

 

“Just walked right in then?” his father asked staring back at Jongin with a similarly cold gaze.

 

“Yes,” Jongin answered.

 

“I'm doing paperwork.”

 

“We have something more important to discuss than paperwork,” Jongin said.

 

“I agree, and since you're here,” his father said and pulled out a file from the bottom of one of the stacks on his desk, holding it opened for Jongin . “I'm sure your mother showed you these already.”

 

Jongin didn't need to see them to know that the file contained the same pictures his mother had been distressed over. He grabbed the file out of his father's hand and tossed it into the trash then slowly pinned his father with his eyes and flattened his hands on his father's desk, towering over him as the older man continued to sit. “The answer to those pictures depend on your answer to my questions.”

 

His father furrowed his brows and frowned. He crossed his arms. “Those are very serious pictures, Jongin. I don't care so much about the woman, but you can not sell yourself to Kim Ho. I won't allow it, not after making you my heir.”

 

Jongin didn't find his father’s disappointed face the least bit intimidating when this man was just sitting in an overlarge swivel chair, graying, with an office that was starting to smell of mothballs. Jongin, however, was something to be feared. He licked his fangs before responding. “You wouldn't care about the woman, would you? You don't care about any women. Not your daughters or your wife, not the woman you had raise a child that wasn't hers. Not my real mother.”

 

Kim Eunjoon's eyes slowly widened as Jongin talked. “What did that woman say to you?”

 

“That woman? You mean my caretaker for the past twenty-five years? Oh, she didn't say much and she won't dare say anything more because she's terrified of you, but I'm not.”

 

“Jongin I—” his father started, but Jongin cut him off.

 

“No, I don't want your excuses. I'm not stupid enough to believe the countless blood test records I found in the house were wrong. You had one taken every year,” Jongin said. “You are my father, unless you wish to admit otherwise. I'd happily be denounced if we don't share the same blood. But, what I want to know is who my mother is.”

 

Jongin's father stared at him long and hard for a moment before answering. “I don't know where she is.”

 

“That's not what I asked,” Jongin said. “Who is she. I only need a name.”

 

“Narsha,” his father said. “Park Narsha.”

 

Jongin memorized the name.

 

“I don't know where she is, Jongin. If you think I took you from her, you're wrong. She left you with me. She abandoned you. There's no point in looking for her,” his father said. “They only place you're wanted is here in this bank.”

 

Abandoned him? This man was the only one who abandoned him. No, not abandoned, this man was a puppeteer and he'd just been his toy this whole time. His father's plan was to use Jongin, it always had been. Jongin glared hard at him, and for a moment, he felt his eyes turn. He saw them reflected in his father’s eyes along with the man’s sudden quick fear, and though it was a surprised fear, there seemed to be a familiarity in it. “I will take over this bank. You made a grave mistake publicly acknowledging me as your heir. All the accounts have already been settled, haven't they? I have a large amount of this company and I can get more. I also have the support of Kim Ho Bank. Yes, yes, father, we're very good friends.”

 

“Jongin, don't...”

 

Jongin took in a deep breath. “Tell me, was the woman I call my mother ever really pregnant?”

 

“Yes, but it wasn't my child,” his father said.

 

“What happened to that child?”

 

His father didn't answer right away, but he was guilty. Jongin could sense the feeling coming off from him even if he tried to cover it up by looking passive. “It died.”

 

Jongin scoffed and turned intending to leave, but he stopped at the doorway and lightly caressed the frame. “You should have kept Jo Insung as your intended heir. I'm taking what's most precious away from you and you've already handed it over.”

 

**$**

 

That night after work, Jongin decided to meet up with Taemin and Wonsik. He met them inside already seated in their usual spots with masks and caps lowered way over their eyes, jacket collars pulled around them. Jongin walked over and stared at them dressed in the same suit he'd worn that morning just with an added kimchi stain on his cuff.

 

“What's up with you two?” Jongin asked.

 

“See, I told you he wouldn't have heard about it. He hasn't watched television in years,” Wonsik said looking at Taemin distressed.

 

Taemin sighed. “Jongin, you're almost as much of an idol as us now. They showed pictures of you on the news the other day when you were announced and then the reporters who have pictures of us with you leaked those. Now we're this trio. Start wearing sunglasses or something. I bet you brought reporters with you.”

 

Jongin knew there hadn't been reporters who followed him to the bar, but there were already reporters outside. “I didn't realize it. There's only been a tiny bit more traffic to the deli.”

 

“That's probably being covered by your dad,” Taemin said.

 

“Nah, it's because your boss can't make a decent sandwich,” Wonsik disagreed.

 

“Sorry, how about drinks on me today then,” Jongin offered and went to the bar counter. He didn't want to trouble his friends, but at least now they didn't have to hide that they were hanging out together. All Jongin wanted to do tonight was get drunk if that was possible. Other then when Lu Han had attacked him, Jongin hadn't been drunk since he was in high school. If he started feeling delirious, he had Lu Han on speed dial.

 

“Oh, Lu Han's friend, yo,” said the bartender who wasn't Yixing.

 

“Jongdae, the werewolf guy, right?” Jongin said looking over the familiar man with his square jaw and charming cat shaped lips.

 

“Yep. Yixing's on vacation this week. AKA: he’s walking around with an open wound to see if he can attract any magical creatures.”

 

“Why would he do that?” Jongin asked.

 

“Blood can attract many creatures, my dear Jongin, and most creatures can't tell the difference between vampire and human other than the tinge of poison. They just want a second look at that creature you saw from someone with a bit more experience before they go announcing it,” Jongdae explained. “But don't you fret, Zitao's with him. Even if he's still a bit off his rocker, Zitao's got enough sense to keep his boyfriend safe.”

 

“Why would he be off his rocker?”

 

“Hmm, Lu Han hasn't explained it yet? Well, when you get changed, they literally drain all your blood from your body. They have to get that poison out. Then they replace it with new blood. A blood transfusion. But it has to be done very quickly and only the smallest, tiniest, most miniscule amount of your vampire infected blood cells can remain. They filter it out via a fake blood substitute then they add real blood. Since they're vampires, they won't die. I think only one has, but that was because the fake blood was too weak and they went into shock. It hurts. You feel awful for days. And as soon as your body has stopped rejecting the change, you crave. You crave so much for years until you finally forget the hunger for it. You remember it, that never goes away, you remember all the feelings, and you long for it. Slowly, your body stops producing venom. You become a bit slower, a bit weaker, you sweat again but very little. But that all changes the moment you taste human blood again. Because I'm a werewolf, the cravings weren't so bad. I could satisfy it by hunting animals and Baekhyun helped me through it by feeding from me so I could still be a part of  the pain and the pleasure. Oh, he's watering today by the way. I can have him bring whatever it is you're ordering to you and your friends. People might talk if we talk together too long.”

 

Jongin was caught off guard by the sudden change in conversation. He hadn't quite understood what being a Monster Hunter really was. It sounded painful, but there was a part of Jongin that was interested. To be human again if only slightly, what would that be like? Not that he even really knew what being a vampire was like. Jongin looked around the bar and noticed the talkative vampire entertaining college students again, but it seemed he was trying to divert their attention away from Jongin and his group more than anything. “Thanks, uh, a soju and beer for those guys and some chicken, and...does Yixing carry something that I can drink. I have a lot on my mind right now.”

 

“I'm sure you do,” Jongdae said. “All of our stuff is laced with vampire sedatives. We just don't happen to carry red wine. It's a dead give away. How about champagne? Fancy something fancier? I can do cocktails, too. I'm aching to try my hand at one.”

 

Jongin laughed. “Sure, make whatever you want, just make it big.”

 

With his order set, Jongin headed back to his group, but stopped when saw someone familiar past by the window. Lu Han. Jongin's chest ached. He wanted to run out and hug Lu Han so badly, take in his tea leaf scent, slowly taste his pleasured blood and know someone craved him though he wasn't positive Lu Han wanted him. But, Jongin couldn't shake off the feeling. At the very least, Jongin thought he should tell Lu Han about his father.

 

“Hey, Taemin, Wonsik, I'm stepping out for a minute, I saw someone from the bank I need to talk to. The waiter's going to bring over our stuff,” Jongin told his friends.

 

“Skipping out on us already? It's not even Friday,” Taemin teased.

 

Jongin grinned. “I promise I'll be back. After all that announcement junk, I'd really like a sophisticated innocent drinking night.”

 

They let him go without much more fuss and Jongin chased after Lu Han's scent dodging being seen by the reporters camped outside the bar. He managed to catch up to Lu Han five minutes later, or more like, Lu Han grabbed him and pulled him into a space between two stores grinning.

 

“I'm on surveillance duty right now. What are you doing running after me, Kim Jongin.”

 

Jongin couldn't help smiling back seeing Lu Han and didn't bother pulling his arm away. “Lu Han. I...can't help it, running after you.”

 

Lu Han seemed embarrassed by that and let Jongin's arm go. Jongin reached out and took his hand and forced their fingers to lace together. It wasn't his intention to flirt at that moment, but he did want Lu Han to know he was serious about it being him that Lu Han fell for next if he had ever fallen for anyone in his one hundred plus years of life.

 

“Lu Han,” he breathed out and held tighter to Lu Han's hand.

 

“What is it, Jongin. Something's wrong, isn't it. The bank has felt eerie today. Did you fight with your father?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“What about?”

 

Jongin leaned forward and placed his forehead against Lu Han's shoulder. He felt all the anger from earlier come back as sadness. “My mother.”

 

“What about her? Did he hurt her?” Lu Han raised his free hand and lightly patted it against the nape of Jongin's neck as if he wanted it to seem just like a friendly touch, but also wanted to run his fingers through Jongin's hair in true affection.

 

“Yes, he hurt her and her baby,” Jongin said. “Then he hurt her and forced her to raise someone else's son.”

 

Lu Han's hand stilled. “Jongin, what do you mean?”

 

Jongin nuzzled closer to Lu Han's neck and he could feel the quickened pulse of Lu Han's blood. It was calming. “I'm not my mother's child.”

 

“That's...devastating,” Lu Han said.

 

Jongin chuckled. “That's true. Thank you.”

 

“For what?” Lu Han asked.

 

“For not saying sorry or something like that.”

 

“It's not as if I knew,” Lu Han said and began to pat Jongin's neck again. “Did he tell you who she was?”

 

“Narsha. Park Narsha. He gave me a name.”

 

“Narsha,” Lu Han repeated. “Narsha. Narsha...Narsha. Do you want me to look into it?”

 

Jongin frowned considering then nodded. “Yes, I want to know if she abandoned me and why.”

 

“And what if you don't like the answer to that?” Lu Han asked.

 

“It doesn't matter.” He pulled his head from Lu Han's shoulder and stared him in the eyes. Lu Han was taken aback by the look, but didn’t break contact encouraging Jongin. “I've decided something, Lu Han. I'm going to take over my father's bank, but I'm going to do it before he can do anything about it. I'm going to take Kim Junmyeon's offer. I'm going to take it all.”

 

**$**

 

Jongin decided to avoid the house for the time being. If his mother invited other women to gossip with her, he wasn't sure if he could take up the pretense of being her son when he knew he wasn't, not in the blood tense. He went to his studio and set up for the night with his laptop and a few of his favorite snacks if he got bored enough to eat. He didn't expect for someone to knock on his door half past ten. It could have been Lu Han, Jongin thought, but he felt like Lu Han would have come through the window like he did the night he attacked him. It was probably the nephew here to give him a notice for when he needed to leave.

 

It was Hyuna.

 

The site of Jongin's half sister with an expensive coat pulled tight around her and a cap low on her head was what he least expected. He couldn't even fathom it. The thought his sisters actually paid enough attention to know where Jongin lived surprised him.

 

“C-can I come in?” she asked.

 

“Uh, sure, sure. I mean, it's not much, there's nowhere to sit,” Jongin said and moved aside for her, closing and locking the door after. He went to one wall and leaned against it, watching as she walked about the studio then stared out the large windowed wall.

 

“It's a nice studio. I see why father hasn't made you get rid of it, but very empty,” Hyuna said and stared out the windows, eyes darting everywhere.

 

“Yeah, but, um...Hyuna, did you need something?”

 

Hyuna sighed. “I'm sorry if this is awkward for you. I know we haven't talked often, but I wasn't sure who else to go to. Mother supports what father does because it keeps her in the position she wants and Hyoyeon doesn't have the power to do anything about it. Her company and brand are still just children in the industries.”

 

“What about Insung?”

 

Hyuna tapped the glass then moved to pull a curtain half way across the window, enough to block her from the outside view. “I need you to get rid of him.”

 

“What?”

 

Hyuna pulled something out of one of her coat pockets. Though Jongin wasn't interested in women, he knew what it was. The women his old friends use to get with took the same tests. He could guess what the result was. “I'm going to be an uncle?”

 

“Maybe. It's only the first test, but...”

 

“Why would you want me to get rid of the father?” Jongin asked.

 

“He's not the father,” Hyuna said. “Insung hasn't...the last time was three months ago.”

 

“You've been cheating on him?” Jongin asked.

 

“It's not like it's recent. I've taken lovers ever since...not long after the marriage and I had lovers before. They're always friends of a friend, or their brother. I make sure I have other excuses to meet with them.”

 

“You don't use protection.”

 

Hyuna pocketed the test and played with the sleeve of her coat. “He threw them away. Insung's family, they want us to have kids. If I have a boy then they can try and fight you for the right of  inheritance. A month after that...well I had a few day after pills still stored up a friend got for me and then I was using condoms with my lover, but I guess it broke.”

 

Jongin frowned. Hyuna kept pausing when talking about intimacy with her husband. He stepped forward cautiously. “What exactly does Insung do to make you not want to be with him? You thought he was handsome when you were married.”

 

“Yes, handsome and smart and rich and that's the end of his good points,” Hyuna said.

 

“Hyuna, is Insung like father? Does he hurt you? Does he...has he forced you?” Jongin asked carefully.

 

Hyuna looked away. “The first night was alright. It wasn't romantic, but it was alright. A couple weeks of that was alright but I started not feeling it. I kind of hoped if I played shy maybe he'd be different with me, but he just got angry and, well not on the face, no where anyone could see. About once a month, he would force it, but I guess that's all he needed to remind me I was his wife or whatever it was he was doing.” Hyuna's words were spiteful. Her high voice spit them out.

 

“I...I'm angry, Hyuna, at him. Whether we're close or not, no one deserves that,” Jongin said. He had calmed down after talking with his father, but now that rage was back twice folded.

 

“Then will you help me? He's an asset to the company, so I can't just divorce him without a reason, but you could do something within the bank to...”

 

Jongin began to shake his head. “I won't set him up and potentially ruin the bank. I want that bank. I don't plan to be father's puppet of an heir, but I'll see what I can dig up. I...I have friends.”

 

Hyuna smiled. “Kim Junmyeon and his nephew? The idols? So I've seen. But, this needs to be done quickly. I can't even get an abortion if I wanted to with the way Insung's having me watched.”

 

“Are you...going to?” Jongin asked and motioned at his own stomach.

 

“I don't know. I'll take a few more tests over the next couple weeks before I go. I'll go to one of those centers whether I do it or not just so I don't have to go to more than one. Insung might stop me if I chance a second trip.”

 

Jongin nodded then finally reached out and squeezed Hyuna's arm. “I'm sorry you've been hurt. I'm sorry you're not happy. But, will you trust me to help you? You must be desperate to come to me, but I do want to help you.”

 

Hyuna smiled. “I always did want a brother. Hyoyeon tried as best as she could. Any rumor about me, she turned to her, that's why father wouldn't even consider her besides the fact she flat out refused to take over the bank. He let's her do what she wants within a set of rules, but she'd probably be happy with someone else to rely on, too. I'll put my trust in you.” She leaned in and placed her head on Jongin's chest.

 

Jongin felt warmth. He slowly moved his own arms to wrap around Hyuna and held her tight. His sister. Someone who needed him. It felt good to be relied on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated.


	12. Malo Mori Quam Foedari

**12. _Malo Mori Quam Foedari_**

 

    Jongin slumped against the door to his studio apartment as it closed and sighed. It was stressful enough coming up with a plan to overthrow his father from the position of the bank's president, but to buy his brother-in-law out of what he owned would be another problem altogether. Hyuna could sue for the bank rights in a divorce, but she would need the upper hand in the divorce case and being pregnant with someone else's child wouldn't look good. Jo Insung would have to murder someone or be caught cheating for Hyuna to even get an abortion if that was what she chose. And if she was pregnant, there was still a chance he might hurt her again before something could be done about it. Then there was the Jo family, but if he had Kim Junmyeon's help, he could probably influence them. First and foremost, Jongin needed to show power to the board of the bank and get them to warm up to him. As of now, they didn't have a good opinion on him. He needed to memorize everything that he'd found it too hard to before. Sleep wasn't a necessity anymore. He could do this maybe, just maybe.

 

Jongin started to get up when he noticed a shadow cross the main area of the studio. The curtains were blowing and the window opened. With fluidity that Jongin wasn’t use to, he managed to pick himself up and walked towards the curtain. He pulled it back, but no one was there. Suddenly, he felt cold metal against his neck. The breeze from the window blew a pleasant smell to him as he took in a deep breath. He smiled.

 

“Lu Han.”

 

The cold metal moved away and Jongin turned to see Lu Han sheathing the dagger back into one of the many pockets inside his trench coat. Lu Han frowned and patted off a sleeve. “What gave me away?”

 

“Your smell. You smell like tea.”

 

“A lot of people smell like tea. Even in England,” Lu Han said.

 

Jongin grinned. “I spend a lot of time with my nose against your skin. You don't think I would be able to recognize your scent?”

 

Lu Han bit his lip and looked away. “So I don't just smell like blood to you?”

 

“I've known you too long to think of you as a meal,” Jongin said.

 

“I guess that would be rude.” Lu Han walked over to the small table Jongin had and saddled one of the folding chairs backwards to look at Jongin. “That was Hyuna.”

 

“Yeah, she...she thinks she's pregnant,” Jongin said.

 

“Congratulations,” Lu Han said.

 

“It's not Jo Insung's.”

 

Lu Han's eyes widened a bit. “Well that complicates things.”

 

“She wants to divorce him. They're not a good match. His family just wants children out of her so they have a better claim to the bank's fortune. And he...he hurts her, Lu Han. My own sister, my mother, my real mother, they're all hurt. I hate women, but not like that.”

 

“I know,” Lu Han said.

 

“What I really hate...what I really can't stand is people hurting them. Do you know what actually made me quit my gang?” Jongin asked. Lu Han surely knew about Jognin's past more than most. They'd known each other then and he’d mentioned it before, fleetingly, sitting together in that breakroom.

 

“No. I thought it was your father.”

 

“I had already left them before he was even introduced to me properly.” Jongin took in a deep breath. “There was a girl they had sex with a lot. She got mad at one of them in the middle of it and wanted to stop, but they wouldn't let her. I tried to help her. They left her and started beating me. I got ran out and I never knew if she escaped or if they did more to her, but I tried to get back in the apartment we used. I didn’t have a cellphone then so I had to run to get help. There wasn’t anyone close enough to be worth it without trying a go at it myself. By the time I got back, she was gone. They were all gone. I didn't want to be influenced into participating in something like that because I was still angry about the divorce, so I just stopped meeting up with them, stopped being anywhere they would be.”

 

“Do you know what happened to her now?” Lu Han asked.

 

“No, but I saw her once after when I had started college. She had a kid on one arm and a guy on the other. She didn't recognize me even though we literally bumped into each other and I didn't have the heart to bring up a bad memory,” Jongin said and walked over to sit in the other chair beside Lu Han.

 

“Hmm, I can understand a bit of what they must have felt, women who've been through that,” Lu Han said and laid his head on his arms.

 

“Lu Han, I...” Jongin started but trailed off. He couldn't apologize for something he didn't do.

 

Lu Han smiled. “It's nothing as bad as you're thinking. Well, it's bad, but not with the same end. Why don't you ask me how I became a vampire?”

 

Jongin frowned. “I didn't want to pry. If you wanted to tell me, I figured you would.”

 

Lu Han scoffed and muttered under his breath, “And yet you have the balls to tease me about being my lover.”

 

“I wasn't teasing you,” Jongin said.

 

Lu Han's eyes widened and he frowned. “Damned heightened senses.”

 

Jongin chuckled. “Do you want to tell me?”

 

“If it'll make you stress out less, I'll tell you.”

 

He didn’t know if it would distress him, but Jongin thought knowing anything more about Lu Han would at least give him something to distract himself with. “You're a hundred and twenty-eight,” he began for the hunter.

 

“I've been a vampire for a hundred and twenty-eight years,” Lu Han corrected. “I was twenty when I was turned. It was during the Qing Dynasty in China. My family was a rich family supportive of the new ways and influenced by the Europeans. They saw homosexuality as bad (so naturally I denied any of my own inclinations) and prostitution as an unsavory sort of business when it use to be quite beautiful in certain rights during past dynasties. There was another rich man who supported the dowager queen and not Emperor Gaungxu as much. My father said something that brought dark rumors upon that man's family. That he was a homosexual. He was actually bisexual. He ruined my family. We weren't royalty by any blood. It wasn't difficult. In mere months we were bankrupt and they sold me to him.”

 

“Your parents sold you?” Jongin asked. “You were already twenty, what use would that do?”

 

“I was a twenty year old that looked like this, actually, I looked even younger before becoming a vampire. I had longer hair, and the sweat dust really matures your aura,” Lu Han continued. “He more or less forced the sale no matter how much I refused it. The thought of being at his mercy made me sick because I  was scared of my own attractions and there had been a girl I was courting from another rich family who loved me. I was going to run away with her.”

 

Lu Han's eyes twinkled. Though Lu Han hinted at not having any true feelings for women, Jongin wondered if he'd had feelings for this girl the way memories of her brought adoration to his eyes.

 

“She was my best friend. I had fully tricked myself into loving her back. I did adore her, though. When he threatened her, that was when I could say no more and he whisked me off to one of the only prostitution houses in our village. It was hidden deep in the woods. They called it an orphanage for young men and women who found their families threatening or who had none. It was actually a den, a den of vampires. Well, the eldest were anyways. Originally, they were going to let him do as he would with me, but I tried...” Lu Han cleared his throat. “I would have rather died than let that old man defile me and in a sense I did. The moment he forced me into a room, I took his sword and stabbed it through my abdomen, but I missed everything vital. Nowadays, I would have lived easily with a trip to the ER, but we didn't have that stuff back then and the closest medic was miles away. They only had a woman that knew how to treat anything sexual related and children. The man was forced out of the room spitting promises that he'd still have me a corpse or not.”

 

Jongin felt his stomach turn. Though probably long dead, Jongin added that man to the list of men that should suffer having their most precious thing taken from them.

 

“The owner came. She was a beautiful women in her late twenties. She held me tight and whispered ‘Would you like a true life? Would you like to live through tonight and every night for an eternity?’ I didn't want that man to touch me, so of course I said no. ‘Accept me, or you will die and he will have you. There is nothing I can do to stop him unless you accept me,’ she continued. So I did. I accepted her. At first I thought it was her choosing me as her personal lover or something like that since she was the Mistress of the House, until they had me stabilized and I was strong enough to live through the bite. They told the man I was too feverish to be had and to come back in a month. It took me two weeks to understand what I'd become. She had planned to leave with me and her vampires and those who wanted to be turned before the man returned, but he came early and demanded me. I waited. I wasn't scared. I was more of a monster than he was, so I thought. I played the part until just before it was too late and I ripped into his throat. I tore it out. I took one of the decorated vases and crushed his vertebrae. I made sure the poison wouldn't turn him. I killed him.”

 

Lu Han glanced over. Jongin supposed he was gauging his's reaction. He made a gun shape with one hand and shot at Jongin then grinned. “Not surprised?”

 

“No, you mentioned something like that before, killing someone.”

 

“I've killed many of someone and somethings.”

 

“You're not a monster,” Jongin said. He could never see Lu Han as a monster. He’d seen the hunter cry over a cat.

 

“And neither are you, but you learned that much faster than I did.”

 

“What happened after that?” Jongin asked.

 

Lu Han shook his head and stood. “That is a story for another night. I've got a job to do, I just happened to see you and your sister when I passed by since you haven't been training, but I know you've got a lot on your plate right now.”

 

As Lu Han started to walk away, Jongin reached out and grabbed his wrist. “Wait, Lu Han!”

 

Lu Han stopped and turned. “What is it? Do you need me to hum you to sleemphg!”

 

Jongin tugged Lu Han's wrist and pulled him closer. He used his free hand to cup Lu Han's cheek and leaned in, letting his lips find the hunter's. They were soft, but there was one rough spot where they were starting to chap from the cold and had grains of a sugary sweetness. Jongin licked them. Then, he pulled away, his chest aching from how hard his heart was beating with excitement and fear. He'd kissed Lu Han.

 

Lu Han pulled away slowly, eyes fluttering opened. He didn't look angry. Maybe a bit confused, but also maybe happy. Maybe he had liked it. Jongin had tried to read the signs that Lu Han was just a bit reluctant but felt the same way too. Lu Han’s lips, wet now, tugged as if wanting to smile.

 

Jongin did smile. “I should have done that years ago.”

 

Lu Han sighed, response so soft Jongin barely heard it. “Years ago, you were still a child.”

 

That was true. Jongin wondered how many years Lu Han had felt anything for him. Perhaps that was one of the reasons he was so reluctant. Even though he said he was almost twenty-nine, Lu Han was stuck at twenty. He let go of Lu Han's wrist and the hunter started to walk towards the window again.

 

“Lu Han,” Jongin called one more time.

 

Lu Han turned feigning annoyance, but his eyes glittered with fondness. “What, are you going to do, kiss me again?”

 

“I could if you want,” Jongin teased.

 

Lu Han looked to the side and Jongin wondered if that was what Lu Han wanted. “What is it Jongin?”

 

“The vampire that changed you was a woman, correct?” He hadn’t yet met a female vampire or hunter.

 

“Yes, she was a woman. Actually, she wasn't even Chinese. She had taken up the persona of a Chinese Mistress, but she was from what is now South Korea.”

 

“What was her name?” Jongin asked.

 

Lu Han furrowed his brows then widened his eyes and jumped, his answer barely reaching Jongin.

 

“Narsha.”

 

**$**

 

“Yes, so if you could have someone look into their past records with your bank, I would appreciate it. I was surprised to see the family had been dealing with your bank previously,” Jongin said as he walked to work holding his cellphone close and keeping his voice low.

 

Kim Junmyeon's voice on the other line was just as soft, but Jongin could hear it perfectly. “Yes, I believe they planned on getting their hands on my company since I apparently didn't have an 'heir' so they took out a generous loan. But, I must say, I am glad to see you have decided to take over your father's bank. I may have preferred you to work for my own, but a partnership would be just as profitable. The vampire world isn't rich just because it's old. It's rich because we have the time to make it so.”

 

“Yes, well, I finally had a reason to get serious,” Jongin said. “Jo Insung will cause trouble for me if I don't take him down now, but he's not the final boss in this fight.”

 

Kim Junmyeon chuckled. “And you were doing so well with your business talk. I understand though. Your father.”

 

“Yes, my father,” Jongin agreed. As long as Jongin could build his support up enough, the actual battle wouldn't be hard. He had learned thinking about this like a video game made it easier to approach. He knew the formula for video games. It was what he and Taemin and Wonsik did most of the time when Taemin had first debuted.

 

“I have heard a little black bird snooping around for you.”

 

“Black bird?”

 

“Perhaps more of a deer.”

 

An image of Lu Han in his black leather and trench coat jumping smoothly and undetectable from buildings flashed in Jongin’s mind. He’d known Lu Han long enough to know the name could be affiliated with deers. “Lu Han.”

 

“You have something on your father.”

 

“He...” Jongin wasn't sure how much to tell Kim Junmyeon. “My mother isn't my birth mother.”

 

“Hmm,” Junmyeon hummed. “So that was it.”

 

Jongin narrowed his eyes. “Did you know?”

 

“Of course I looked into my rival's background when he claimed you as his son and then into yours when you first became a vampire. I only knew your mother didn't have a birth certificate from a hospital. She had guardianship papers. I figured it was some plan your father had. I suppose it was. Is Lu Han looking for your mother?”

 

“Yes,” Jongin said. How many Narshas were there in the world? He rounded the corner that led to the street where Krystal Wiches was located. There was someone standing outside the door, though, a man. “I think he might know who it was.”

 

“Oh, and who does he think it is?”

 

“You'll have to ask him about that, I have to call you back. I think...Wu Yifan...” Jongin said and trailed off to see the leader of Lu Han's Monster Hunter team in front of his job.

 

“Yifan? I see. I will let you two talk then. I'm happy to give you any business advice you need, Jongin. I'll let you go then.”

 

“Yeah, thanks. Bye,” Jongin said and hung up as he approached the hunter. “Can I help you?”

 

Yifan wasn't dressed like Lu Han. He had dark sunglasses and a mask, appearing similar to Taemin and Wonsik. Jongin supposed it had to do with his current identity as a Chinese actor and model. But, Jongin could feel when he looked at him.

 

“Let's have a walk.”

 

“I kind of have to go to work,” Jongin said and pointed at the deli.

 

Yifan reached out and rattled the doors. They made a loud sound, but no one came out to check on it. “Doesn't seem your boss is here yet. I think you're fine for a short walk. I have a message from Lu Han.”

 

Jongin's eyes widened. He held out a hand. “Lead the way.”

 

Yifan started to walk, long legs keeping him just far enough in front of Jongin as not to seem too friendly. “How are you and Lu Han doing?”

 

“He hasn't been taking me on any assignments,” Jongin said. “You said we were partners or something like that.”

 

“Initially, I planned on you two to be partners, but since you're training and working, I understand why Lu Han might be putting it off. He's also use to working alone. He is more of a stealth mission sort of guy. But, other than that, how is it going?”

 

Jongin remembered the kiss from the night Hyuna had come to him and couldn't help but grin.

 

“From that look I take that it is going well in quite a different way,” Yifan said. “I have known Lu Han for a hundred years. That is considered enough time for us to be family. I do not wish to see him hurt though he has many years to get over it. Vampires tend to take on different lovers every few decades. Even those who have found true love will take a break and have a human lover as human lovers can only be kept for so long. But, one of the reasons you become a hunter, is to feel more human, to live more human. Even if you convert back one day, you've gotten to taste a smidgen of humanity once again, but with your own terms..”

 

“I feel pretty human,” Jongin said. “I mean other than the drinking blood and the superpowers.”

 

Yifan frowned at that.

 

“Look, if you're trying to scare me off from pursuing Lu Han, it won't work. I've known him for ten years. That may not be enough to consider him family, but it's enough to know whether I want to be serious about this. You should concentrate on your own lover.”

 

“I don't...” Yifan started then stopped and cleared his throat. “What if you were family?”

 

Jongin came to a stop. “What do you mean? This has something to do with the message Lu Han had for me, doesn't it?”

 

Yifan stopped as well and turned. “You shouldn't worry, it's not blood and even if it was, you'd be far enough down the line that it wouldn't matter. You share the same venom. Granted, Lu Han's body only carries a drop of it now, but it is what keeps him immortal.”

 

“Same venom? I was bitten by Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo is only recently a vampire. Are you talking about Kim Junmyeon? Lu Han told me that it was a woman that bit him. Was the woman Kim Junmyeon's apprentice?”

 

“I suppose it would be more appropriate to say that Suho is her apprentice though it was her brother that bit him. I am talking about born vampires. They are not first generation nor second, but they are what you could consider vampire royalty.”

 

“What does she have to do with me?” Jongin asked.

 

“Narsha,” Yifan said. “Park Narsha. Or, Park Hyojin as she usually goes by when trampling about Korea. Narsha is her vampire pseudonym. It must have been a slip of the tongue that she told your father her name was Park Narsha.”

 

Narsha? Park Hyojin? Jongin couldn't make sense of it. “What does this have to do with my birth mother.”

 

Yifan lowered his glasses just enough so Jongin could see his eyes. “She is your mother. You've never been human.”

 

“What?” That made no sense. It had only been recently that Jongin had gained a taste for blood.

 

“We're not sure of the circumstances at the moment, but it may be that Narsha thought you were human. All children born between a vampire and a human are human, but it seems that Kyungsoo's venom being from a similar family awoke that gene in you. That was why he got sick drinking your blood. It is thick with venom and, as a new vampire, he was over enthusiastic with feeding.”

 

“That's not right,” Jongin argued.

 

Yifan pushed his sunglasses back up. “Of course you wouldn't believe it. We wouldn't either, but we ran tests. You are her son and the first official case of a born vampire with a human. Considering your father has a reputation for not having boys, it must be because that gene is so weak and it was weak enough for the vampire gene to show up, but it was dormant. Don't you think it's weird how quickly you developed in comparison to Kyungsoo. And the girl you bit, you shouldn't have been able to change her yet. The first week, fledglings haven’t developed venom.”

 

“I...don't understand,” Jongin said. To be told he was a vampire was shock enough, but he had gotten use to it. Now he was being told he'd always been destined for this? Or could he have kept living as a human had Kyungsoo not bitten him? Jongin felt like punching the little sadist again.

 

“If you have more questions, come see us. We'll happily explain more, but it appears your boss has finally arrived.”

 

Jongin turned to see Krystal struggling with getting the key in the lock with one hand, her other holding a box of more garlic to her hip. When he turned back, he could already tell Yifan was gone without seeing the empty space where he'd been.

 

**$**

 

“Hey, you in the mood for a lunch?”

 

Jongin looked up from his musing to see Krystal leaning over the counter towards him grinning and waving a few bills in his face.

 

“What?”

 

“I'm in the mood for some noodles, how about you be a doll and go get it?”

 

Jongin reached out and took the money. He'd been in a daze all day and there hadn't been many customers. No matter how much he thought about it, being born a vampire didn't make sense to him and there wasn't anything he could do about that. On the other hand, he needed to get Hyuna and Jo Insung divorced and fast.

 

“Krystal, if you wanted to divorce someone, but you wanted the court to be on your side, what would the other person need to have done for you to get evidence on?” Jongin asked.

 

Krystal blinked then leaned back and hummed as she thought. “Murder for one. There's also fraud. And abuse, but with a married couple, they may not believe the wife unless she's sent to the hospital.”

 

Jongin could not let his sister be sent to the hospital, and if she was and they found out she was pregnant, that wouldn't help her case. The court might say the beating was for the cheating. Which, either way, should still look badly on Jo Insung, but he had power.

 

“Oh, and an affair. If you could provide evidence of the man having an affair, that could work.”

 

An affair? Jongin wasn't sure if his brother-in-law was sleeping with other women or not. He had such a young wife that he had to rape to sleep with and even that he only did once every couple months. He did get along with Kim Eunjoon even if the Jo family was fighting with the Kim Eun bank’s president. But, if he could get Jo Insung to sleep with someone and have him caught in the act then maybe they'd have a chance at a quick divorce. Jongin didn't want to stoop to blackmail, but as Jo Insung wasn't the heir anymore, the media wouldn't find him as favorable and the board would be more willing to insist he get pushed farther and farther away.

 

“Krystal, do you have a particular preference for the men you sleep with?” Jongin asked.

 

“My preference is anyone who wants to sleep with me. I guess you could consider me aromantic and hypersexual. Why do you ask?”

 

Jongin didn't think this would work, but he needed to suggest it anyways. Krystal was the only women he knew that was young enough and not related to him other than Seulgi who he’d only met once and texted a handful of times after. “And you don't care if they're married, right?”

 

Krystal glared. “Are you trying to ask me to trick someone into sleeping with me, Kim Jongin? I don't do the pursuing, that's not my style.”

 

Jongin sighed. “Yeah sorry, I'll go get lunch then.” He took off his apron and stepped around the counter towards the door.

 

“Wait, Jongin,” Krystal called.

 

Jongin turned with his hand on the door.

 

“Just out of curiosity, who was it you need divorced?” she asked.

 

Jongin licked his lips as he thought whether he should tell Krystal or not. He didn't know who she really was, but maybe she had something that could help him. “Jo Insung.”

 

“Your brother-in-law?” Krystal laughed then leaned her head back. “Jo Insung. He's not a bad looking man.”

 

Jongin watch her for a moment. Krystal waved a hand. Jongin left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Apprecaited.


	13. Mater Semper Certa Est

**13. _Mater Semper Certa Est_**

 

    Only when it was an hour before Jongin had to be at work the next day did he realize he hadn't had a headache in months. He'd come to the bank early to study files and history in more concentrated self lessons and had been doing online self study and research at night with what Junmyeon could send him, and almost everyday after work he was going to the vampires’ condo to train with Sehun and Chanyeol. He had only been sleeping four hours a night if that, but he didn't feel tired. He could wake up on time now that he was drinking Lu Han's blood regularly and he didn't have to bother eating often. He was overworking himself more than he ever had in college, but his body condition felt better than it ever had. Jongin turned away from his pile of files and laptop when he heard the door open to the old computer room he had set himself up in.

 

“Oh, you're here again,” a familiar voice said.

 

Jongin turned immediately smiling. “You knew that, Lu Han.”

 

Lu Han sighed and placed a box of papers on a desk in the room. “I try not to use my senses when I'm working as a human, give people a chance to actually get away with trouble and mistakes. Are you studying again?”

 

“Of course. I need to know everything about this bank and about banking if I want to force my father out of his place before his initial retirement date. But, I'm going to need the board to trust me.”

 

Lu Han walked over and leaned against Jongin's desk. “Is it easier to study now? I know you weren't very good at it back in the day.”

 

“I wasn't interested back in the day. It's still not interesting, but I want to do this,” Jongin said.

 

“Is it easier to concentrate now? Do you find it easier to remember stuff?”

 

Jongin looked at Lu Han curiously. “What are you getting at?”

 

“I know Yifan talked to you the other day.”

 

Right, Jongin had been trying not to think about that conversation. It made no sense to him. “He said something about your creator being my birth mother.”

 

“She is.”

 

Jongin exited the screen on his laptop and crossed his arms. “How? I...I understand she could be my mother, but not the other part. I was human before.”

 

“You’re still human, Jongin, just a hyper-human. You grew up with a hyper-human gene dormant inside you. It is something that’s more complicated than I can explain. Come with me later to our hide out so Zitao can give you a better rundown of his findings and the lab results. Jongdae has some too. I'm more of an assassin than a technician in our group so I don't really have the details.”

 

Jongin sighed. “Have you even asked this Narsha lady if she had a kid?”

 

“Yes, I called her. She said she assumed you were human so left you with your father.”

 

Jongin ground his teeth together. “I don't want to know what she said to you, I...”

 

“Do you want to meet her?” Lu Han asked.

 

Meet her? Jongin's eyes widened. He hadn't really considered that he could meet his real mother so soon. He hadn't considered at all that she'd be something like a vampire queen.

 

“She doesn't know you were born a vampire yet. They born vampires, they don't like to be bothered with uncertainty while they're in hiding. I have to bring her the reports, if you want to go with me.”

 

“Yes,” Jongin said. “Yes, I want to go.”

 

“Alright, I'm not sure what day it'll be. I don't want to get in the way of your schedule. Minseok did say he was going to be put up against you soon. We both use to be the assassins in the vampire group back in the day when vampires were still doing that. That stopped pretty soon after I joined though.”

 

“I can reschedule,” Jongin said. “Anything, I can reschedule related to them. They all want us to go on a date anyways.”

 

Though Lu Han didn't blush or falter, Jongin could feel the puff of embarrassment heating his body.

 

“I never said anything about it being a date,” Lu Han said. “And when have you been talking to everyone about me?”

 

“They talk to me about you,” Jongin said matter-of-factually. “Yifan even threatened me to treat you right.”

 

“He would,” Lu Han snorted. “Why are you talking about this? I thought you were angry with the mother thing. Now you're trying to make it into a date?”

 

Jongin examined his blank computer screen for a moment in silence as he tried to collect his thoughts. He had too many of them and too many things he wanted to do and needed to do and he didn't think it would be good to put any of them off even if he now had centuries, millenniums, eons to live. “I have more than one agenda on my list, Lu Han, of things I need to accomplish and need to do. I've had you on there the longest.”

 

Lu Han blinked then glared. “I'm just a tick on the list? I've lived a long time, Jongin. I won't be played with like that.”

 

Jongin stood up suddenly from his chair and turned, trapping Lu Han against the desk where he'd been leaning, arms on both sides of the hunter. Lu Han's eyes were big and his breath caught. He could tell his eyes had gone to their natural vampire state of being mostly iris and little white. He could see so much more of Lu Han. He could almost see the blood running through his veins and the heat of his body. He leaned in and Lu Han instinctively tilted his head to the side. Jongin slid his breath, lips a butterfly's wing length away from the soft white skin, up Lu Han's long neck as he responded. “I've admired you for ten years, Lu Han. Do you honestly thing I want you to be just a notch on my belt? It may have taken you decades to come to terms with your sexuality, but it hasn't been that long since I came to terms with my own. I like you, Lu Han. I want to date you.”

 

“I...” Lu Han started. He swallowed. The motion almost drove Jongin crazy. He was feeling thirsty with all this stress, but he didn't dare bite. “I'm not a human. I'm not even a vampire anymore.”

 

“I'm not human and apparently I never was,” Jongin responded.

 

Lu Han sighed and turned his head a bit to look at Jongin seriously. “I'm over a hundred years older than you.”

 

Jongin laughed at that. “I've always known you were older than me, Lu Han. If you want to get technical, your body is actually younger than mine. And, I'm not a minor anymore. I'm twenty-five.”

 

Lu Han bit his lip and looked away.

 

Jongin lifted a hand and lightly touched Lu Han's jaw. “Are you worried about that? You're attracted to me, aren't you?”

 

Lu Han didn't deny that fact. “I stopped sleeping with women when I realized I was turning a hundred years old. They were the daughters and granddaughters of my friends and family and their friends and their family. And you're...”

 

“I'm a vampire, Lu Han,” Jongin said. That admittance came easier to Jongin than it ever had. “I'm not some child still dreaming of their cradle. I was already fifteen when we met, Lu Han. I'm twenty-five. I'll be twenty-five for the rest of my life just like you're twenty.”

 

Lu Han tilted his head down. “I...men...”

 

“Are you afraid of being with men still?”

 

Lu Han shook his head. “This isn't the place to talk about this.”

 

Jongin sighed. “You're right on that.” He moved his hand from Lu Han's face and pushed back his bangs, leaning down to kiss Lu Han's forehead. “I'll ask you again, but a proper date. Meeting my mother can just be work. I will still come with you later.”

 

Lu Han nodded and pushed Jongin away softly, hand slowly sliding down Jongin's arm. It drove Jongin insane, the lingering touches, the teasing smile. Lu Han had always been doing those things, more so the older Jongin got. Perhaps if Jongin hadn't become a vampire, if that gene had never been activated, Lu Han would have continued flirting without ever meaning to let it come to a conclusion.

 

Jongin would have caved eventually and then Lu Han would have run away.

 

Once again, Jongin realized Lu Han had been right. Becoming a vampire had been a good thing.

 

**$**

 

“Jean?” Lu Han said and looked Jongin up and down.

 

Jongin looked himself up and down, too. He thought he'd chosen well. His pants matched the same denim material as his jacket and he had a simple white shirt underneath. “What? I don't have leather and corsets like you, but if you want to change that, I'm totally into it.”

 

Lu Han sighed and looked up and down the path of the park near the hideout Lu Han had instructed for them to meet at after Jongin got off from work. “Your usual suit would have done fine. You didn't have to change before meeting me here.”

 

“Would you rather have me wear suits?”

 

Lu Han pressed his lips firmly together and turned swiftly, trench coat swirling with the motion. “We don't have time to flirt right now.”

 

“I'm taking that as you like suits,” Jongin said and followed Lu Han as he started towards the old estate the Monster Hunters were using in Seoul.

 

Lu Han didn't use the front door this time. It was late night and Jongin had only lost his reporter stalkers a few blocks away. He didn't need them catching him with an unidentifiable, but beautiful leather clad character. If they got a close enough picture, they could probably tell it was Lu Han, but the stiletto like boots would throw them off as would the shape the corset gave him if Lu Han took the coat off. Jongin had guessed that was why Lu Han wore what he did. He wanted to be unidentifiable. From the front, you could see a large expanse of Lu Han's chest and collarbone which were deep cut with muscles, but everywhere else was slender dancing muscle. Not even his shoulders were wide. Jongin thought him handsome and pretty. He followed his handsome pretty partner over a wall and was then impressed when he watched Lu Han jump and land in an open window with ease and grace. Jongin wasn't as graceful, but he managed to land inside without hitting his head.

 

“The trick is to just imagine yourself doing it and your muscles will do the rest for you,” Lu Han said and reached a hand out to help Jongin up.

 

“I'll keep that in mind when I'm put against Minseok next week,” Jongin said taking the hand and not letting it go. Lu Han didn't seem to notice as he just decided to drag Jongin around by their connected hands instead.

 

“You're a fucking moron, you know that, Wu Yifan!”

 

Jongin and Lu Han both stopped at the screaming followed by Minseok being thrown out of one of the rooms down the hall they had just passed. He was glaring at the door before he turned and looked at them surprised. “Oh, well at least the other hunters know HOW TO ESCORT THEIR LOVERS AROUND NICELY!”

 

“SHUT UP KIM MINSEOK!” Wu Yifan's voice rang almost shaking the beams of the building.

 

Minseok reached out and kicked the door before walking towards Lu Han and Jongin, his eyes looking between them both then at their hands. “Looks like you two are getting along.”

 

Lu Han seemed to notice their hands and tried to pull his away nonchalantly, but Jongin held tight to it. Minseok noticed anyways and pouted. “I thought you liked this kid? You're not the type to play hard to get. You turned me down right away. And Yifan only got a kiss before you kicked him three centimeters from his balls. You did almost agree to Sehun's threesome, though.”

 

Jongin raised a brow at Lu Han and Lu Han looked away. “I liked Sehun. But, Chanyeol had just confessed. And why are we talking about this? Do I need to speak to Yifan for you?”

 

“Nah,” Minseok said and held up a peace sign with a large fake smile. “I got sex and blood before getting kicked out this time. Usually it's just one or the other. Oh, Baekhyun's with Jongdae right now if you're okay watching him be all puppy breath on the werewolf then he has your copy of the paperwork so go ahead to the lounge. Zitao just got done facetiming with Yixing so he's good to talk, too. I'm leaving though.”

 

Jongin watched the vampire head out, probably back to the condo to do whatever it was he did for Junmyeon (like planning ways to torture Jongin the next time he went over for practice). He didn't look away until Lu Han started dragging him again. They got around to the sitting room Jongin remembered from the first time he had come to the Monster Hunters' hideout and tried to map it out in his head. On the largest couch was the werewolf hunter, Jongdae, with a setup of computers and documents laid out on the coffee table in front of him and a very whiny vampire half on his lap, straddling one thigh, face buried in his neck. Jongin could see little streams of blood along the werewolf's neck from where Baekhyun was nibbling and tried not to breath through his nose. Dog blood wasn't his taste, Jongin found out. On a recliner sat Zitao curled up staring sadly at his phone. There was only the end of the couch, another recliner, a love seat, and a stool left to sit on. Jongin immediately pulled Lu Han towards the love seat. If he could sit by Lu Han, he was going to sit by Lu Han.

 

“Hey, Baek, could you stop for a minute? Lu Han and Jongin are here.”

 

The vampire made a disagreeable noise. “But I'm hungry.”

 

“You're not even eating, you're just playing. I'll let you bite my dick later,” the werewolf promised.

 

“Really?” Baekhyun asked, eyes large and irises and pupils blown with excitement.

 

“Just a knick,” Jongdae said and tapped Baekhyun's nose.

 

The vampire smiled and pulled himself off the hunter to lay across the couch with his head in Jongdae's lap.

 

Jongin sat uncomfortably on the loveseat. He, Lu Han, and Zitao had all made the same motion at the thought of having their private parts bit, though Jongin was entertaining the thought of entertaining the thought. He was the only one of the three that did the biting.

 

“So, it's nice to see you've finally brought your boyfriend over to see us after nagging us and taking us away from our investigation on what attacked him to find his birth mother,” Jongdae said as he started to ruffle around with some documents on the coffee table.

 

“Actually, that was a good thing,” Zitao corrected. “We figured out why Kyungsoo got sick. Junmyeon's stopped giving Kyungsoo full control of the training room now.”

 

Jongin frowned. Yeah, he had noticed there were fewer mistakes made with which 'obstacles' were dropped.

 

“He's not my boyfriend,” Lu Han corrected.

 

Jongdae rolled his eyes. “Jongin, are you sexually or romantically attracted to Lu Han?”

 

“Both, yes,” Jongin said and felt Lu Han's hand crushing his. He didn't mind, he was happy Lu Han hadn't let go of it.

 

Jongdae rolled his eyes again. “Well, we'll put that aside for now. You came here to hear about your mother.”

 

“Yes, Narsha,” Jongin said.

 

Zitao grabbed the stack Jongdae had been fiddling with and handed it to Jongin. Jongin finally let Lu Han's hand go to take the papers and flipped through them. Most of them were medical so he couldn't understand them and some were in a totally different language.

 

“Vampire language mixed with some Latin and Gaelic. You'll also see some very old Chinese in certain spots. You'll learn it eventually. The non vampire words are only words or phrases. For now, we'll focus on the science in a more simpler form,” Jongdae said.

 

“We'll start at the beginning,” Zitao piped up. “Not long ago, you encountered Do Kyungsoo at a bar for the first time. That was actually his first time being left to his own devices without the guidance of Kim Junmyeon or Xing Xing....Yixing. Kyungsoo had only been turned in October, barely a few months before his twenty-sixth birthday by his seven year long lover, Kim Junmyeon, and feeder and boyfriend for ten. Another three months, his muscles should be ready for training and hair completely white.”

 

“I've only been a vampire for over a month,” Jongin said, “and my hair is already white.”

 

Zitao raised a finger. “Exactly. Vampires do change at different speeds. Six months in and I was a full fledged underling. I only took three months to be able to go out without needing to feed, but I'd had so much training before I was turned because I was studying martial arts in a temple so I was good with self control and my body was strong enough to adapt.”

 

“I had no reason to learn self control quickly because Narsha gave me blood and she also had no interest in teaching me fighting. She focused more on toning my mind and conversational skills, but I did have some fighting training before hand, just the basics” Lu Han said.

 

“I was already a werewolf so strength, I already had that. I only attacked one person, too. But I ate a lot of animals. Animal blood seemed to do the trick for me,” Jongdae said.

 

“Born vampires are not born with white hair or strength right away,” Zitao continued. “Not one has been born recently because it's a rare conception with someone who was created and most born vampires are related or already have a history with each other by now. But, they do slowly gain a need for blood. At birth, the baby is given vampire blood, just a drop. The venom in the blood is the same as eating a puffer fish properly prepared. If there is signs of a more concentrated amount of venom in their mouth, then they have the taste for blood and their own venom will change them. If not, they'll get mildly sick until they throw the blood up. All humans will throw vampire blood up within a week.”

 

“So I threw up blood?” Jongin asked.

 

“Narsha didn't test you. It wouldn't make sense since your father was human. Honestly, we would love to take a count of his sperm to see the percentage of girl and boy, but that's not possible. We believe, that his Y sperms are very weak so the vampire cursed chromosomes were able to overtake the rejecting human chromosomes. But, that small bit of DNA can't overtake a body still growing. Vampire children don't stop growing until their teens or late twenties when they stop developing. And are full fledged vampires. Theoretically, you may have been as old as your father before you started showing signs of it.”

 

“Or I may never have,” Jongin said.

 

“That's not true,” Jongdae said. “I mean there is the possibility that you would have continued as a human with venom blood. Since we don't know where the origins of the vampire DNA came from, we can't do extensive research into the science side of it and there are so many other things to take care of. We know even less about werewolves. But, Jongin, we do know you were born to be a vampire. Do Kyungsoo is a time bomb of a personality. The fact you managed to catch him on his first day being a vampire by himself was fate. That bite awoke that gene inside you and made it start running faster. It was already going. Kyungsoo wouldn't have gotten sick if you were just a normal fish. You're a puffer fish. And he had too much.”

 

Jongin stared down at the files. Would he really have found himself in a pool of someone's blood one night twenty years from now? If Lu Han had refused him, could it have been Taemin during one of his break ups crawling to Jongin for comfort? Or Wonsik, a shoulder to cry on in their old age? Jongin took in a deep breath then looked towards Lu Han.

 

“Where does she live? Narsha, I need to see her.”

 

**$**

 

“So this is where Narsha lives?” Jongin asked as he stared through the cracks of an old wooden fence into an old Korean style estate in the wooded area just outside of Seoul.

 

“This is where most of the South Korean vampires live when in hiding. Sometimes they'll go out and shop or travel, but usually they just stay here. With things like the internet and movies, it is easier to find things to take up their time. Narsha actually went into hiding earlier than scheduled. We're guessing that's because she had you,” Lu Han said and started to poke at a button pad with a little screen. “This is Lu Han, the Dawn Deer. I wish to speak with Mentor Narsha accompanied by a new vampire.”

 

The door immediately opened and a man wearing a black robe with a hood on it and a dangle of crosses on his neck stood before them. He held out a small dish with a needle to Jongin.

 

“He wants a blood sample,” Lu Han said. “The system here got upgraded to recognizing you by blood.”

 

Jongin took the needle and pricked his finger letting a few drops fall into the dish. The cloaked man closed the dish and led them into the estate where a few other hooded men were walking about.

 

“Why are they dressed like this?” Jongin whispered to Lu Han.

 

“Disguise,” Lu Han said. “They're pretending to be a religious cult. What religion they're based on changes and they move to a different estate once every couple hundred years, but this is where they are right now and the oldest and it is the oldest estate we own.”

 

Jongin nodded. The cloaked vampire stopped at one of the bigger buildings on the estate and a female vampire came out dressed in hanboks in muted colors and held the main sliding door open. While Lu Han walked straight in though his steps were light. Jongin took off his shoes on the little porch outside the door then padded down a hallway where more female vampires waited, but these ones not dressed as formally. They had holders with knives belted in and Jongin thought he even saw a gun. When they walked into the next room, Lu Han immediately fell to his knees before a raised and curtained platform in a dimly lit ornate chamber. Jongin got on his knees and bowed out of courtesy, but didn't stay down. He could see a shadow behind the curtain, an outline. The outline shifted and a long leg, on the pale side but still gold, slid from a crack in the curtain followed by the body of a woman in her late twenties with only a soft silky robe tied around her body. Her eyes were hazel and blown with no white at all, hair dyed a dark brown, but blonding at the ends. She shifted to the end of the raised floor and looked down at both of them.

 

“I haven't had anyone bow down to me for years,” she said. She reached long arms above her head and stretched like a cat.

 

Lu Han stood. “I apologize if it makes you uncomfortable. I brought you the files.”

 

Narsha reached out a hand and Lu Han handed her a flash drive. She held it up to one of the dim lights, an old lamp hanging from the roof with candles instead of bulbs. “So it's all here? I'll trust the research, but it doesn't matter. Either way, I know he's my son.”

 

Narsha's eyes turned to Jongin and she smiled softly at him. Jongin felt his body tingle. She was beautiful and he could sense her danger. But, there was a softness in her. She patted the space beside her on the cushioned platform and Jongin found himself taking the offered seat. Narsha took Jongin's hand and held it between both of hers.

 

“Lu Han, leave us for a moment,” Narsha commanded.

 

Lu Han hesitated at first, but turned and left, sliding the door closed behind him. Jongin watched him leave, deep breath caught in his throat. Narsha still had his hand, but she let it go after a minute. Jongin was startled when he felt her hand on his face instead. He turned and looked at her.

 

“So, he named you Jongin?” she asked.

 

“He didn't name me,” Jongin said. “My...the woman who raised me did.”

 

Narsha patted his cheek then leaned away. “Ah, I see. I told him to name you Kai. It was a name I hoped to give one of my apprentices one day, but I never found one it fit. I thought it would fit you.”

 

“My name is Jongin,” Jongin repeated.

 

Narsha sighed. “I know very little about you, Jongin. I was the one who asked Lu Han to work for that company, but I never told him why. He probably assumed it was because of Suho. I do adore Suho, but it was my brother that bit him, not me. I favor Lu Han as well. He seems fond of you to do all of this.”

 

“I would hope so,” Jongin said. “I want him to fall for me.”

 

Narsha laughed softly. “You came out very stubborn and passionate then. I'm glad. I wonder what you got from your father.”

 

“Just his face,” Jongin said. “Only his face. I only knew he existed when I was in high school. And now I'm meeting you.”

 

Narsha frowned. “I know he didn’t publicly raise you, but he didn’t have any contact with you? I'm sorry, I don't keep up much with the news if it's not on a grand scale. Lu Han hadn't reported to me in years though he slips by with shopping now and again. He's no longer a vampire after all.”

 

“No, that man didn't raise me. He forced his other lover to raise me, made her marry a man much older than him, and raised a child that wasn't hers.”

 

“Did he? I want to say I'm surprised, but I'm not.”

 

Jongin stared at Narsha. He wasn't sure what it was he wanted to ask her anymore. This was his mother, his real mother. She was just as confused about him as he was of her.

 

“Why did you fall in love with him?” Jongin finally asked.

 

“I didn't, I just liked his face.” She tapped Jongin's chin. “You're much more handsome than he was. I think I added a bit of prettiness, but you look so much like him. Usually, I go by personality when I find human lovers. I don't care what they look like as long as they're nice. I can only keep them for twenty to forty years anyways. I have vampire lovers. There's no use in changing a human I'm not mad for.”

 

“So he was just a fling?” Jongin asked.

 

“He was a mistake. You, however, were not. An accident perhaps, but not a mistake. I never once felt that way. I didn't want to give you to him, though.”

 

“Why?”

 

Narsha's eyes suddenly slitted and he could see her fangs biting down on her bottom lip. “Any man like that is a mistake. I decided to be stupid for once. I wanted to try something more dangerous than me. You could say I was going through a rebellious stage. After a few hundred years you get bored. I knew he was married. I knew he had lovers other than me. But, he was also handsome and rich and knew his words well. I knew they were all lies, though. He didn't love his wife it was forced. All other lovers were just blankets because he was so lonely. I was the only one he truly loved. He said it all, but he said it differently. He was believable even if I didn't believe him.The only one he cared about was his bank.”

 

“I might have shown him my eyes,” Jongin said. “He was scared of me for a moment when I asked him who my real mother was.”

 

Narsha laughed louder this time. “Good, he better still be scared. You know, I'm very strong and very quick. I knew your father was a cheater and a liar, but there was one thing I couldn't imagine him being.”

 

“He's a woman beater,” Jongin said.

 

Immediately, Narsha frowned. “How do you know that?”

 

“I've always sensed it. My mother...the woman...”

 

Narsha held up a hand. “You can call her your mother. She is the one that raised you after all. You're not my only child, if that doesn't surprise you. Well, you're my only living child. They've all been with humans and I didn't change one. I didn't stay with them long enough for them to call me mother as adults so you don't need to bother.”

 

Jongin nodded but furrowed his brows. He'd had other siblings at one point, children who had lived and died like normal humans. “My mother, she has always acted like...she has the symptoms of a woman who has been beaten. I could tell. I found out he beat her so bad once, she lost her child. He's a murderer.”

 

Narsha hissed. Jongin was surprised by the sound and felt himself go on the defensive, but Narsha grabbed his arm to steady him or perhaps herself as she growled out a response.

 

“I should have ripped his spinal chord out.”

 

Jongin almost wanted to laugh. He had thought something similar. “What did he do to you? Karma's already come for him, so please tell me.”

 

Narsha hummed thoughtfully. “It seems you already have plans. Well, sometimes you get surprised by a human. Usually, I let myself get hit or nudged just so I seem realistic, but I didn't see the punch coming, honestly. I was going to break it off with him. It wasn't fun when he wasn't really looking at me enough to get seduced. He was always so busy with that bank that it felt like he was just trying to put it in human form by having sex with all these women. A different woman was a different person he could get money out of in a way. A lover bank. He reminded me of when I met Lu Han.That man. I dropped the enamored ditzy girl act and then he punched me in the face. I immediately hissed at him and grabbed his arm, actually, I broke it, when he tried to hit me again. Then, I threatened him.”

 

“Why did you give me to him then?” Jongin asked.

 

Narsha looked away. “That was not easy. I've never raised any of my children on my own. I didn't expect to get pregnant, but I knew he would just forgo protection sometimes. As a vampire, I can't take birth control and conception is so rare anyways that we don't bother. But, you were very strong. I was going to raise you and change you. I planned that up until the moment you were born. Never once did it cross my mind to test you. You looked so much like him. You deserved his money and you deserved to live in the sun. He couldn't deny you weren't his, either, when he saw you. I made him promise me many things though it seems he didn't take my threats seriously. I went into hiding after that, but there was a mission I had been requested on so I couldn't keep up with you. I told Lu Han to join his company and that was all until now.”

 

“There was nothing else to your reason of giving me up?” Jongin asked.

 

“No, I just wanted you to be human,” she said. “If you want to hate me, that's fine.”

 

“I don't hate you.”

 

“Then I don't expect you to want to become my son in an emotional way, but I do have an inheritance for you.”

 

“I'll take that,” Jongin said. Whatever it was, he could use it to take over his father's bank. “I plan to take the bank.”

 

Narsha smiled. “Ah, so you'll get it either way. That was one of the things I had him promise. Is there something else?”

 

“Yes, Lu Han. If he is your favorite, you must know he is also mine. And...” Jongin stood then took his place back on the floor at Narsha's feet. “And I want to thank you for saving him. He may not be a vampire any longer, but he is still alive and can still be happy and I want to do that. I want to make him happy.”

 

“Why are you asking me this?” Narsha asked. “I don't find it disgusting if you think I would. I've had female lovers, but you're right about Lu Han not being a vampire any longer. He still calls me mentor, but he's not my apprentice.”

 

“You're the closest to a parent he has,” Jongin stated. “There's no one else to ask a blessing from.”

 

“As your parent, I give you my blessing to be happy, Jongin. Is that enough?” Narsha asked.

 

Jongin was about to respond when he felt the pressure of a foot on his head. At first he thought it was Narsha teasing him, but he didn't remember Narsha wearing heels that felt like needles. He didn't remember Narsha wearing shoes at all. The guards had worn slippers and Lu Han...Jongin could smell him and grabbed the leather booted heel so he could turn his head and look at the hunter.

 

“Lu Han?”

 

Lu Han looked embarrassed as he tried to smash Jongin's head in again with his death heels. “Where do you get asking someone else if you can make me happy, idiot! I'm not a bride and this isn't a hundred years ago.”

 

Narsha laughed as Jongin stood up rubbing the top of his head. Just then, one of the hanbok women came in with a small tray of tiny cutting tools, her neck and arms wrapped in silks and bandages.

 

“Ah, my meal is here,” Narsha said. “If you two will excuse me for tonight, we can always pick back up on another. I will look over the files and, Jongin, please visit me on your own time. I'd love to hear any story you have of growing up. Bad or good.”

 

“Um, sure,” Jongin said. The girl had climb into Narsha's bed and he could see the hanbok slowly being taken off behind the dark curtains.

 

“We'll be heading out now,” Lu Han said and grabbed Jongin's hand.

 

Narsha waved at them before disappearing behind the curtains as well.

 

Once they were back outside of the building, Lu Han stopped and turned to Jongin. “You know, she's your mother not mine.”

 

“Yeah, well, Yifan apparently hit on you, so I can't ask him,” Jongin said.

 

“You could try just asking for my permission,” Lu Han said.

 

“I did. You didn't respond so I thought I'd try it the old fashion way.”

 

Lu Han turned away. “Just because I was born a hundred and something years ago doesn't mean I want to be treated like I was. Besides, you haven't actually... asked...me...this is stupid...let's just go.”

 

Jongin didn't let go of Lu Han's hand. “Lu Han, Saturday night, go on a date with me, please.”

 

“Why should I?” Lu Han asked. He still wasn't looking at Jongin, but his hand was warm.

 

“Because we like each other.”

 

Lu Han pulled his hands away and crossed his arms walking towards the gate a bit faster. “Fine.”

 

Jongin barely heard it. “Wait, really?”

 

Lu Han stopped and reached out grabbing Jongin's hand again. “Shut up. Playing hard to get isn't easy you know.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated.


	14. Panem Et Circenses

**14. _Panem Et Circenses_**

 

     “Jongin?”

 

Jongin jumped hearing the voice behind him and almost tripped as he spun around. His nerves were shot. It was his first date with the guy he'd been crushing on for years and he thought Lu Han wasn't going to show up when he was thirty minutes late to their meeting spot in the park. “Lu Han!”

 

“Why are you acting surprised?” Lu Han asked and crossed his arms. “You were meeting me here, right?”

 

“Yes, of course. You...you were late,” Jongin said and looked Lu Han over. He didn't look particularly dressed up. Lu Han might have had a bit of eyeliner on, but he was wearing the same style of baseball jacket and jumper and low crotch tight calf joggers, just in a shade of pastel.

 

“That's your fault. I half expected you to be in a suit with that expensive wool coat you like to drag around with you,” Lu Han said.

 

“That's the second time you've mentioned a suit. Do you want me to wear suits? Is that your thing?” Jongin asked.

 

Lu Han stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jogger pants. “They're a good investment.”

 

Jongin grinned though Lu Han couldn't see it under the mask he wore and tilted his head in the direction of a busy street. Lu Han started walking and Jongin matched their steps together.

 

“Why are you wearing a mask and cap anyways?” Lu Han asked.

 

“Reporters. If we're on a date, I don't want them to know it's me. I have to start doing this with Taemin and Wonsik, too,” Jongin said.

 

“But, I'm not famous,” Lu Han said.

 

“You're famous on the streets for your dancing. I just didn't want them bothering us,” Jongin said.

 

“Okay, but where is the little prince taking me then? Dinner and a movie?”

 

Jongin had considered that, but there wasn't a movie out he wanted to watch and he didn't know what movies Lu Han liked other than Iron Man. And a dinner would have been fine, but Jongin didn't know what Lu Han liked to eat other than bubble tea. Jongin had realized, in anticipation for their date, that it was the little things he didn't know about Lu Han. He knew his personality to a degree and he knew some of his quirks and that his passion was dancing, but he'd only recently learned anything about the hunter's pass and that he was a hunter at all. But, that was the point of dating. Jongin wanted to know it all. “You'll see.”

 

“I'm getting suspicious,” Lu Han said. “If not dinner and a movie, are we going to a club?”

 

“I thought about it,” Jongin said. He also thought about just setting up on a corner and having them dance together, but Jongin felt like that would have to wait until another time and he'd rather Lu Han ask him to join him for a dance. “But clubs are too loud.”

 

“Loud? What do you want to do then?” Lu Han asked.

 

Jongin rounded a corner and gestured towards a cute little wooden sign with paw prints on it. “Talk.”

 

Lu Han' spitted out a laugh. “A cat cafe? Really?”

 

“You like cats, right?”

 

Lu Han walked to the door of the cafe and held it open. “I own one, right?”

 

Jongin walked in and quickly got them set up. They got a seat in a nice quiet corner with some toys for the cats and food with drinks for themselves on the way. There were other patrons, mostly young girls and a couple couples nestled in other corners. The cats seemed lazy that night, but one made it's way over and into Jongin's lap, a long lean thing the color of the night and, with a bit of coaxing from a cat toy, Lu Han got one of the funnier looking ones to play with him.

 

“How is Lu Cat by the way?” Jongin asked as he pulled his mask down so he wouldn’t scare his new found cat friend.

 

“Good, fat, still doesn't come when I call him,” Lu Han said as he played with the cat.

 

“I'm glad he's happy. Have you had a pet before?” Jongin asked.

 

“Yeah, it's not weird for vampires to keep pets. We outlive them quickly, of course, but so do most human owners,” Lu Han said.

 

“I think I'll get dogs,” Jongin said. “Maybe poodles, small ones.”

 

“Those are cute,” Lu Han agreed. “Jongdae once had a cat. It hated him.”

 

“He's a werewolf. Of course it did.”

 

“It didn't like Baekhyun either, so they got a dog instead and gave the cat to Minseok who gave it to one of his human lovers as a parting gift at the time.”

 

“Ah, has Minseok had many lovers?” Jongin asked and started to stroke the cat that had walked up to him. It purred deep and loud.

 

“Of course. I think Yixing was the only virgin among us when he was turned. Chanyeol might have been, but I'm pretty sure he had a wife and kid.”

 

“Chanyeol had a wife?” Jongin frowned. “He and Sehun are lovers, though.”

 

“Doesn't mean he wasn't playing straight, or maybe he was bisexual. Doesn't matter now, those two towers are supporting the same feelings and they're pretty strong. I don't really know what happened to his wife. I never did get close to Chanyeol. We get along, but not the best.”

 

“Because of Sehun?” Jongin asked.

 

“Actually, we get along much better because of Sehun.” Lu Han stopped playing with the cat and leaned back. “You know, I have dated men. Only vampires, I really haven't gotten a chance to think about dating since becoming a hunter, but it's not like I haven't tried to be with one.”

 

“What kept you back?” Jongin asked.

 

One of the workers came with their drinks and they were silent until she left. Lu Han laid all the way back and the cat he'd been playing with curled up at his head and started to chew on his hair. “You know, Minseok was the one that made me realize it was okay for me to like men. We clicked. He showed me how to flirt with them and told me about sexual stuff. He made me want to be with men. Him asking to date me was more of a joke. Minseok sleeps with anyone he's close to as long as he's not going after someone and he's gone after Yifan multiple times. It hasn't worked yet.”

 

“But you liked Sehun.”

 

“We were close in body age and looked similar so we were always getting put together. He's a huge brat. Apparently, I like brats.”

 

Jongin couldn't see the glare Lu Han was giving the ceiling, but the cat at his head was glaring at him in Lu Han's stead and Jongin's chest felt warm. He understood where Lu Han was getting with that. “And Yifan?”

 

“Yifan's stupid. He had a very serious relationship with Suho though it was over before I joined. I think he thought I was interested in him when I decided I wanted to go back to being human. It wasn't so much that as I wanted to take some of my humanity back now that I'd learned so much about myself.”

 

Jongin stirred his drink around, a hot chocolate with a drawing of a cat on it, and took a sip. “What was that about you playing hard to get then? Were you really?”

 

Lu Han finally sat up and poked at his coffee. “Maybe a little, but...can I admit to being scared?”

 

Jongin studied Lu Han's face. He did seem tired and his lashes kissed together rapidly almost as if he was trying not to cry. “I think if you admit it then you're not as scared as you think.”

 

“Then I admit that I like you, Kim Jongin, and that it scares me.”

 

“Liking you scares me, too,” Jongin said. “You're still a complete mystery to me.”

 

“And you have things about you that you don't even know,” Lu Han said. “But, I want to know and I've never...I liked that girl from when I was human so much, but not sexually. I liked the vampires I dated, but not romantically. When they touched me, I got scared and that was when I broke it off so we never got far. One moon cycle and that was it. Eventually, I gave up. That man, I let him touch me up to a certain point and I can feel his ghost. Sometimes I think he haunts me. I did murder him after all.”

 

“I think that was more self defense than murder.”

 

“Then the ghost of my family,” Lu Han said. “Though I've accepted my sexuality, it still feel it's wrong. I still have all my father's teachings and beliefs memorized. They're like a curse and I think about them when I...well I've not had sex for a hundred years and that was with women.”

 

Jongin took another sip of his drink then rearranged himself on the floor table, his leg touching Lu Han's. “I wasn't lying when I asked Narsha if she would bless my wish to make you happy. I'm not confident in myself at all, but you've always been there cheering me on. Even your dances before you knew I was your boss' son, they encouraged me that I could still enjoy the things I loved even if I wasn't doing anything with it.”

 

“Don't get all mushy feely on me right now, Kim Jongin. I can only handle so much,” Lu Han said.

 

Jongin tilted his head and grinned at Lu Han. “This is a date. I'm suppose to be romancing you.”

 

Lu Han picked up the funny faced cat and it struggled in his arms before jumping out and started to chase a kitten about the cafe. Lu Han huffed watching it leave. “And am I not allowed to romance you?”

 

Jongin tapped his leg against Lu Han's. “You've been doing that, haven't you? We've been flirting for years, Lu Han. I think you just thought you'd be able to get away with it.”

 

Lu Han made a face like a child caught lying and adjusted the hood of his pastel baseball jacket. “I knew you were gay. Your senior year of high school, I knew.”

 

“That's when you stopped teasing me and started flirting with me. Honestly, this was bound to happen, more so than me becoming a vampire.”

 

“Hey, stop talking about fate and stuff. That got old even before I became a vampire.” Lu Han picked up his drink and finished it off then got up and started to, respectfully, chase the cats around the cafe.

 

Jongin laughed and watched him while petting the black cat now napping in his lap. He was pretty sure their hour wasn't up when one of the workers came over to ask them if they wanted to stay any longer, they were just annoyed with Lu Han. Jongin led them out of the cafe and back onto the street where he saw a few flurries of snow falling and melting onto the street.

 

Spring was only a week away.

 

“I think I know why Lu cat doesn't come when you call,” Jongin said as he pulled his mask back over his face and adjusted his cap.

 

Lu Han made a displeased face. “I love him and I feed him and I play with him. He's so ungrateful.”

 

Jongin shook his head and led Lu Han back to the park. There were a few vendors and shops on the opposite street of the park that he thought Lu Han might enjoy. As they walked, he felt Lu Han move closer and closer to him. Looking at him, Jongin could see the hunter shivering and his breaths coming out in puffs.

 

“Do hunters regain their sense of temperature when they revert?”

 

Lu Han seemed caught off guard by the question as he looked at Jongin, eyes a little watery and cheeks pink. “Huh, oh, yeah I can feel temperature now. Not as much as most humans. My trench coat is warm and I'm usually jumping around so the cold feels good. Also leather and latex can be both cooling and warm depending on the weather.”

 

“Wait, some of that stuff is latex?” Jongin asked.

 

“Sometimes I have to get wet. Latex is more water resistant...sometimes,” Lu Han said.

 

Jongin kept himself from entertaining the thoughts he began to form as he felt Lu Han bump into him shivering. He stopped and reached out to grab Lu Han's wrist. “Are you cold Lu Han?”

 

“What? Oh, no, I'm fine really. We can keep walking,” Lu Han said.

 

Jongin reached out and lifted Lu Han's jacket hood over his head gently as to not completely flatten his fluffy hair. It was a simple action, but the reaction he got from Lu Han made Jongin's heart race. Pink flushed with the red already on Lu Han's cheeks from the cold and his teary eyes sparkled and widened. As Jongin moved his hands away, they caressed the tips of Lu Han's hair sticking out from the hood and caused sparks. On instinct, Jongin reached for the strings of Lu Han's hood and pulled, tightening it around his face.

 

“J-Jongin, I can't see,” Lu Han complained, voice broken, caught between a croak and a yell. “Take it off.”

 

Jongin stared at Lu Han's face, or what he could see of it. Lu Han's button nose twitched with annoyance and small, pink, bow shaped lips parted just slightly as he breathed in surprised gasps. Jongin pulled his mask down to his chin with one hand and his other hand reached out to touch the hood.

 

“Okay,” Jongin said before leaning in and pressed his lips to Lu Han's.

 

Lu Han didn't make a noise nor did he complain or resist. On contact, he tilted his head and reached a hand out to place lightly against Jongin's chest. When Jongin moved away, Lu Han turned his head away, biting his lip, hand still on Jongin's chest. Jongin loosened Lu Han’s hood and waited for a sign to continue or stop or wait. Lu Han's hand on his chest clenched then slid up to Jongin's neck and he pulled him down as he took a step closer. Jongin met Lu Han halfway. He pulled Lu Han's hood down as their lips met again and held Lu Han's waist with his other hand moving him in closer until they were pressed together somewhere in the dark shadows of the park's trees. It was Lu Han who pressed his tongue against Jongin's lips and Lu Han who explored, slowly, feeling his way around with his hands as well. He had fingers dancing up and down Jongin's neck and up into his tousled blond hair. His other hand rested on Jongin's side closer to his stomach then his back pressing butterfly light touches with their tips. They stung delightfully even through the layer of jacket and shirt Jongin wore. Jongin only ever moved away from Lu Han's lips to rearrange and lead then rearrange and give up. Lu Han was a good kisser. For all his worries about romancing men, Lu Han had this down to an art. He was a slow kisser, a gentle kisser, a kisser Jongin knew he'd lose to. Jongin let Lu Han have this. He didn't want to scare Lu Han away with the usual rough and sloppy kisses he was use to. There was nothing to rush. They could go years with just kissing. Jongin would be okay with a decade of just this, kissing Lu Han with the fuzziest of flutters in his chest, the softest warmth coming from Lu Han's finger tips, and the precious touch of Lu Han’s fluffy hair against his face.

 

When Jongin heard a sniff, he pulled away trying not to laugh. “Are you okay?”

 

Lu Han lifted a sleeve to his nose and wiped looking at Jongin annoyed. “Shut up, I'm mostly human and I'm cold.”

 

Immediately, Jongin pulled Lu Han flush against his chest and nestled his nose in the hair above Lu Han's ear. “I can make you warmer.”

 

“I'm not taking you home with me, Jongin,” Lu Han warned.

 

“This is only our first date. I don't expect you would.”

 

“Oh, you want to feed then?” Lu Han asked.

 

Jongin moved his lips over Lu Han's ear then down his neck. “Can I?”

 

“Yeah. I'm glad you kissed me first, though.”

 

Jongin teased his fangs against Lu Han's neck. “Why is that?”

 

Lu Han didn't say anything at first. He was already shaking in anticipation of the bite. “Just bite me already Jongin.”

 

Jongin licked the spot he'd chosen. “Hey, invite me to your place one day.”

 

“Never,” Lu Han complained.

 

Jongin lightly pricked Lu Han's neck. “Invite me~.”

 

“Fine,” Lu Han sighed. “But not tonight.”

 

“Not tonight,” Jongin agreed and pressed his lips against Lu Han's neck before blowing against it.

 

Lu Han immediately pulled away and wiped his neck. “Gross!”

 

Jongin laughed and held out a hand. “Let's go shopping, Lu Han. My treat.”

 

Lu Han glared at Jongin for a moment then smiled and took his hand. “You...you're a little shit.”

 

Jongin could wait a whole decade.

 

He doubted it'd be more than a month.

 

**$**

 

Jongin found he slept too much on the weekends. Yesterday had been his date with Lu Han and he'd been more than excited about it to sleep properly. He'd even gone to Junmyeon's condo for training in order to burn time and energy. He caught up on most of his sleep Sunday morning. It was already the afternoon before he rose from his little mat pile in his studio and cleaned himself up, Lu Han the only thing on his mind.

 

They'd made out again before parting ways in the alley behind a bubble tea shop with a couple bags of shopping dropped mercilessly on the ground. It had been Lu Han's urging showing off his neck whenever possible. Jongin hadn't planned on biting him, but he did end up doing so and probably leaving a few more marks on Lu Han's long white neck than necessary. Jongin played with his fangs as he looked around for his phone.

 

Lu Han wouldn't let Jongin walk him home even though he was putty in Jongin's arms after the feeding. They curled up again in the park until Lu Han stood, kissed the side of Jongin's head, and left. Jongin touched the side of his head remembering for the hundredth time since waking up and saw the glint of his phone by his shopping bag in the corner. He ignored it to pull out the sweatshirt Lu Han had picked out for him along with a little soccer key chain. Lu Han had said he use to play soccer on the streets with Minseok when World War II ended and had fallen in love with the game. Jongin dropped both items back in the bag and grabbed his phone. He crawled back into his makeshift bedding and looked at his phone. Immediately, he frowned.

 

Twenty missed calls. They ranged from Taemin and Wonsik to his step-mother and mother and even one from the hunters and the vampires. Most were from Hyuna, called using both her phone and Hyoyeon's. Then there was a text from Lu Han.

 

Jongin. Watch the news.

 

Jongin sat up and immediately went shopping for a news app. The largest headline on the front page had a very familiar name on it.

 

Jo Insung.

 

Jongin quickly read through the article then stood and rushed out grabbing his bag and clothes.

 

“Hey, Kim Jongin, wait a minute!”

 

Jongin turned to see the nephew at the front desk grinning at him waving some kind of paper towards Jongin. Really, Jongin didn't have time for this. He tsked and grabbed the paper before slamming it down on the counter. It was an eviction notice. The studios were being renovated to actual apartments and all tenants needed to either renew their contracts or leave.

 

“Fine. Take the studio. Take anything in there. I've got a bank to take over,” Jongin said and turned away.

 

The nephew had seemed confused, but Jongin didn't care. He'd just lost a potential important renter. Quickly, Jongin dialed Hyoyeon's number.

 

“Who is this?” Hyoyeon asked answering.

 

“Sis...ter, it's Jongin. Where's Hyuna?”

 

“Oh, I...sorry I don't have your number saved. She's here with me. She's been spending a lot of time over here. Did you hear what happened?”

 

“I just looked it up. I'm sorry I didn't reply sooner, I was just...I was just tired. I didn't hear anything,” Jongin said.

 

“It's fine. I'll let you talk with Hyuna.”

 

A few seconds later and the static of the phone switching hands stopped.

 

“Hello, Jongin?”

 

“Hyuna, are you alright?”

 

Hyuna sighed on the other end. “I'm fine. I was scared at first. I mean, my husband was attacked. He's fine now. They said he'll probably wake up today or tomorrow morning, but it was bad, Jongin. It was really bad.”

 

Jongin licked his lips then pressed his top fangs down hard into his bottom lip. He didn't know what to make of this. The news article said Jo Insung had been found in his hotel room bleeding from multiple bite and scratch wounds late at night by a woman he'd gone to the hotel with after she had left him to ask for more sheets and pillows.

 

“Where are you?”

 

“The police station looking over stuff with them,” Hyuna said.

 

“I'll be right there. Don’t say anything more to them until then,” Jongin said and hurried. At the police station, both Hyuna and Hyoyeon were cuddled together in a back room with the police.

 

“Who is he?” one of the cops asked.

 

“Our brother,” Hyoyeon said.

 

“I'll be the one filtering the news from here on out,” Jongin said. “I don't want anyone else talking to reporters, understood? I want to know everything first.”

 

The police seemed reluctant at first, but Jongin stood his ground. This was it, this was one of the opportunities he needed to show himself. It wasn't in the way he wanted, but Jongin needed to take control now. As a family with money, the police immediately went to a potential revenge crime. They showed clips of anyone who had come in contact with the hall of Jo Insung's room in the hours before and after finding him attacked. There had been two women. A brunette and a woman in a scarf. The brunette, Jongin was able to see the face of clearly when she came out screaming and didn't recognize her. The scarf woman, who had left hours before, had been covered head to two in generic clothing and glasses along with her headscarf, but she had a simple gold bracelet the same as the brunette’s, perhaps friendship bracelets or whatever they were to each other. Jongin didn't need to hear the brunette woman's story to know what had gone on between the three. But, there were no signs of anyone else coming into the room from the hall.

 

“What about outside footage?” Jongin asked.

 

“Just some animals. Only birds would be able to get up that high,” the police officer said.

 

Jongin shook his head. Animals. Or monsters. He had known. From the very first description, Jongin had known what it was that had attacked Jo Insung. But, that wasn't for humans to know about. He turned to Hyuna.

 

“He cheated. Did you know he was cheating?”

 

Hyuna shook his head. “I...he goes to other cities often and spends the night. He never seemed to be interested in other women. He barely seemed interested in me...maybe because he's been cheating on me.”

 

“He didn't just cheat. He had a threesome,” Jongin said. “Did you see him?”

 

Hyuna looked away. “I did. That girl was there. She was surprised when I said I was his wife. She said he had been telling them he just looked like Jo Insung. That doesn't sound like him at all. It's like I don't even know him.”

 

But she did know him. That must have been the reason why his father had accepted Jo Insung as his son-in-law at first, they were alike. Jongin was careful in what he asked Hyuna in front of the police. They needed to make this believable. They needed the media to turn on this injured man.

 

“His parents wanted us to have children. I was going to agree. I really was,” Hyuna said and covered her face. “I stayed with him for a while, but it just made me sick.”

 

“The media already put out he was in a hotel room and it wasn't you, Hyuna,” Hyoyeon said.

 

“Even though he hits me, I was going to agree to have his children, but then he does this...but he's hurt, I just...I...”

 

Hyoyeon pulled Hyuna to her. Jongin understood this wasn't all an act. They all had mixed feelings. This was terrible, but also too good to be true. He turned to the police officer. “If anyone asks, we're allowing Jo Insung to be defamed, but keep the attack information to a minimum. If it was revenge, we can't risk the rest of the family. Also, I'd like an investigator. If you'll excuse me, I have to make a few calls.”

 

Jongin headed to the bathroom of the police station. Outside there had been a few reporters, but in his clothes now, they wouldn’t  recognize him right away. He tried to remember the numbers of the people he needed to call. It hadn't all been bank accounts and loans he'd been studying. Junmyeon had been more than willing to hand him over a few names on the darker side of business life.

 

Jongin took a deep breath.

 

He wasn't a monster and he wasn't human.

 

Humans weren't monsters, but they weren't angels.

 

They were all gray. Jongin had to be gray.

 

Jongin started to dial.

 

**$**

 

Monday was a mess. Jongin had barely been able to sneak out of his house that morning to get to the bank in peace with the amount of reporters still camped outside their house. His mother had been staying at a hotel all weekend with one of the men his father was doing business with. He wasn't sure if they were in an actual relationship or if she was just trying to stay out of Jongin's way, but Jongin knew the background of the man, long widowed and two children still in school, with a favorable demeanor. It was better she stay with him for the time being until the whole thing with Jo Insung blew over. At the bank, it was even more of a nightmare. Their only saving grace were the police Jongin had made sure were put out in front to control the crowd which had been dispersed by the afternoon to go harass Jo Insung's parent's business. They were the real hot topic: Jo Insung, son of IOTL Industries, attacked in hotel after an affair with two unidentified women.

 

At least, that was all Jongin had groomed the media into putting out.

 

When Jongin headed out of the bank for the day disguised in a t-shirt and cap with a backpack slung over one shoulder and a jacket slung over the other, he felt pretty proud of himself. The higher members of staff had either agreed with the way he'd handled the situation or at least respected him enough to leave it to his father to tell Jongin otherwise. Which he had, Jongin's father. But, he was afraid. He had mentioned that Jongin should have paid the girl off. The people would believe Hyuna had been a terrible wife and that was why Jo Insung cheated. His father didn't want them to look bad at all. It wasn't fair that way. They weren't good. This was a bank. They weren't a church and they weren't the black market. They were everything in between. As long as Jo Insung looked worse then they would be fine. They had to keep their business going. Putting attention on the cheating would put more attention on Hyuna, but Jongin was confident Hyuna could play that to her advantage. She'd lived this life longer than Jongin had and Hyoyeon would help her. With attention over there, the bank would be able to run smoother in the aftermath of it all. If the masses focused on the actual attack, they would be too afraid to invest in Kim Eun Bank and businesses wouldn't want to borrow money.

 

Jongin stopped by a vending machine a block down from the bank before slipping in some money and waited for it to spit out a hot tea. He was going to have to look at the books tomorrow. He had spent a lot of money paying off various media outlets to filter the news away from the actual attack. Not that he wasn't without help from Kim Junmyeon. He hadn't had permission for it though so he'd have to have a meeting with the more prominent members of the staff on where they would move money from and where to invest into next. But, before any of that, he'd have to find something to invest in.

 

Reporters were slim on Jongin's way to Krystal's Wiches. He'd finished his drink before reaching the front door and tugged it open without looking inside. He jolted hearing loud female voices from the back and missed the trash can he'd been attempting to shoot his drink can at.

 

“Just leave already, Jess. I don't need to hear you right now,” came the familiar voice of Jongin's boss.

 

From the backroom a blond woman walked out, her back to the deli door. “You asked me to help you, little sis. I did what you asked.”

 

“You did more than what I asked and I just mentioned it to you. You're so greedy,” Krystal said walking out with the blonde woman, arms crossed and face splotchy with anger. “This is why my hires never come back.”

 

“He was dealt with. Be glad I didn't do more. I don't know why you even wanted to bother with him,” the blonde woman said and turned, almost bumping into Jongin in doing so, headed to the door. Their eyes met and she stopped to blink at him. “Oh, you're the worker, right?”

 

“Uh, yeah,” Jongin said and stepped back to give the woman room to move. “I heard voices so I was going to go see.”

 

“It's nothing Jongin,” Krystal said, voice terse.

 

“Oh, it's something alright,” the blonde woman said eyeing Jongin up and down.

 

“Jess! Just leave, alright?” Krystal warned.

 

The blonde woman huffed and rolled her eyes. “Oh, you're no fun. But, I think I understand.” She leaned closer to Jongin and twirled a lock of her long hair, the bangles and bracelets on her wrist jingling with the motion. “He looks delicious. I’d want to keep him, too.”

 

“Jess!” Krystal warned again.

 

The blonde woman stepped away and went for the door again. “Hey, boy, you get tired of a girl your age, come find me. I've got some friends, too.”

 

Jongin watched her leave confused.

 

“Don't be tempted. I might sleep with a lot of guys, but at least I draw lines. She tricks them,” Krystal said.

 

“Who was she?” Jongin asked still looking at the doors.

 

“My sister. We don't see a lot of each other lately,” Krystal said. She had a towel out and was aimlessly wiping the counters. “Stop looking at the door and get to work.”

 

Jongin turned around then. “I wasn't...sorry, but her bracelets. They just seemed familiar. There was a gold one I think I've seen recently.”

 

Krystal stopped her cleaning and threw the cloth at Jongin. “They're just things she makes. They're popular recently. She sells them online or something like that I think. She’s even given me a few.”

 

Jongin stretched the material of the cloth. He'd definitely seen one of those bracelets somewhere. “Do you think she has a list of the customers she's sold to.”

 

“No, I wouldn't know,” Krystal said fiddling with the vegetables on the line. “I think she sells them to stores and they sell them from there.”

 

“So no private sales?” Jongin asked. It kind of...but then again Jongin wasn't the investigator and the hotel cameras were a bit blurry.

 

“I said we're not close recently so how would I know about her job?” Krystal snapped at him.

 

“Hey, I was just asking questions. Besides, it seemed like she was helping you with something from what I heard.”

 

Krystal looked away then ran a hand through her hair. “I...there was just some guy I needed her to take care of. He was becoming annoying. She's good at crushing guys. But, she’s also the reason why you’re the only one I’ve been able to hire.”

 

Jongin walked up to the counter and placed the cloth down. “Sorry, I hadn't considered that. I know even sexual relationships can get tricky sometimes.”

 

“She’s a good big sister, but we just don’t see things the same,” Krystal said and took the cloth and went to the register. It was mostly empty. “You have sisters so you must know.”

 

“We’ve only recently started getting close,” Jongin replied.

 

Krystal sighed. “I shouldn't have gotten angry with you. I'm just not on good terms with my family right now, but you’ve got it worse. Did your brother-in-law wake up? I saw the news.”

 

“Yeah, but they put him back to sleep. Apparently, he was in hysterics when he woke up. He kept yelling about monsters,” Jongin said.

 

“Who attacked him?”

 

“A wild animal, they're saying,” Jongin said. He hadn’t surprised when Hyuna told him Jo Insung had woken up and described a white woman with claws coming into his room, fucking him and tearing him up at the same time. She'd sounded so disgusted repeating what he'd said. Jongin wasn't sure how much of it was true, but Jongin knew it must have been horrible. It was only that that made Jongin feel the least bit sorry for him. No one deserved to be eaten alive or whatever it was those creatures did, whatever those creatures were.

 

“Well, are you up for work then?” Krystal asked.

 

“Actually, I need the week off,” Jongin said. “I have to keep an eye out for the media and take over some of my father's duties. He wants me to be our bank's ambassador in a business meeting some high end company is having. They want to expand or something. I have to get them to take their loan with our bank and make them get the biggest and most interest I can so I need to study.”

 

“Okay, that's fine,” Krystal said and sighed deeply. She then smiled at Jongin. “Man, you really sounded like a professional right then. Another couple months and you’ll need to be the boss.”

 

“Yeah, well, I gotta go,” Jongin said and looked around the deli. “You know what, I'll take a sandwich. Anything you want to make. I won't leave you without any customers at all this week just because you don't have this handsome face around.”

 

Krystal rolled her eyes, but picked up a pair of plastic gloves. “Alright. I'll make you my new special. I've been having this thing for garlic lately.”

 

Jongin laughed. Of all the decorations, the purple garlic cloves were the only ones Krystal actually replaced and kept up with. “I think you've always had that.”

 

“Just cough up the cash, Kim Jongin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated.


	15. Hic Et Nunc

**15. _Hic Et Nunc_**

 

    Slowly, Jongin took in a deep breath of the cool new spring air and groaned. “How in the world do you wear this stuff. I can barely breath.”

 

“Jongin, you don't even have to breath. You can hold your breath longer than a whale can,” Lu Han said walking over to Jongin having just finished a call with Zitao. “And you were the one who wanted to try a hunter outfit.”

 

That was true. Jongin had asked about proper hunting gear when Lu Han had called him up to come scout the city with him. It wasn't anything as elaborate as Lu Han wore, just black skinny jeans that were more like spandex jeggings, androgynous heeled combat boots, and a similar black blouse to Lu Han’s with a short jacket instead of a trench coat, but he did have a corset. Jongin had been proud getting it on without much help from Lu Han, but it was uncomfortable for the most part. “What is this even for though?”

 

Lu Han reached out and before Jongin knew it, Lu Han had a knife at his stomach, pressed in. It snapped the minute it came contact with the corset's interior only leaving a scratch on the leather outside. “It's bullet proof, too. But, mostly I just wear corsets because they look cooler. You can wear an actual vest like Zitao does.”

 

“I never thought about armor,” Jongin said.

 

“Well, we're not invincible,” Lu Han said and started walking down the street. “We won't die right away from being stabbed or having our vertebrae crushed. There's a few ways to do K.Os on us, but usually with anything critical, all we have to do is revert back to a vampire. We keep it on us, a vial of human blood.” Luhan tapped the single earring he wore. “Once you're strong enough to keep yourself from drinking it, you can carry one around with you for emergencies. But, usually a hunter's death derives from the stubbornness to not take the vial.”

 

“Would you take it?” Jongin asked.

 

Lu Han stopped walking then turned and smiled. “Well, I have a boyfriend now, don't really feel like giving that up even if all he does when I ask him out on a date is complain. Seriously, if you were studying, you should have said so.”

 

Jongin grinned. “Well I can't study now after hearing that. It's fine. I'm ready for the business meeting and I'll wear the corset.”

 

“Good, now let's go. Zitao and Yixing have already gone back so they can fuck and feed so we need to hurry up and pick up where they left off.”

 

“Sounds good to me. What are you guys even stalking?”

 

Lu Han didn't answer right away and that put Jongin off. He walked beside Lu Han and followed him onto the roof of a one story building. The hunter walked over to a ladder that led up a taller building then to an even taller building and a taller building than that until they were standing at the top of the tallest building in the area, blind to the citizens below with the bright lights of the city blocking them against the dark sky. Lu Han walked over to the edge and looked down.

 

Jongin stayed back a few feet, hands buried deep into his pockets as he watched the hunter stare down into the streets, eyes focused, body alert. “Lu Han?”

 

“I was afraid of heights when I was human. Then I became a vampire and wondered if I could fly.”

 

“We can't turn into bats,” Jongin said. That was one of the first questions he had asked Junmyeon during training.

 

“No, we can't, we're just amplified humans, but when you first become a vampire, you think you're the top of the food chain. You think you're the king of the jungle, the king of the Savannah, the king of a city. But, lots of big cats are endangered. Humans are their enemies. Humans could be our enemy, Jongin, but they're just not fast enough. They're like baby us. They're not livestock though we  feed on them. I don't know why, none of us do, but maybe that's the curse for all the gifts being a vampire brings. You have to take the blood of your brethren. But, there are those out there that are not human.”

 

“Werewolves? You've mentioned fairies, too.”

 

Lu Han shook his head. “All shifters were once humans or they formed from humans similar to how vampires do. They don't get the immortal life, but they do get another form, a more primal, more true form. They get to understand what it's like to be that predator. Fairies, well they're a tricky sort, but they don't hunt humans as food anymore and neither do werewolves if they can help it, just like animals. But, there are monsters, Jongin.”

 

“What monsters? Humans who do bad things are the only monsters I know,” Jongin said and walked up to Lu Han. He knelt down on the edge of the small skyscraper they were on and looked down. Most of those humans down there were so innocent, much more innocent than they thought.

 

“I'm not saying there's a black and white divide, but they are monsters to us. You covered up everything well, Jongin, but of course you knew we'd investigate into the matter with your brother-in-law.”

 

Jongin stood and stretched. “Of course. I know what attacked him. It was the same thing that attacked me and Seulgi that night.”

 

“It's the same thing that killed the girl you bit,” Lu Han added. “We know what it is, Jongin, we just haven't been able to find it.”

 

“That thing, what is it?” Jongin asked.

 

Lu Han turned and Jongin was surprised to see fear in his eyes. “I haven't seen one since the Korean War, Jongin, and that one was dead and just a newborn. They're terrible things, but this, this is much stronger.”

 

“What is it?” Jongin repeated.

 

Lu Han covered his face, fingers pressing into his head as if it pained him to say it. He finally collected himself and let the answer out with a sigh. “A ghoul.”

 

Jongin could only be confused. “A ghoul? Aren't those like zombies?”

 

“Not in this sense,” Lu Han said. “They are born what they are. Think of vultures and hyenas, anything that eats a corpse before it'll eat something alive. That's a ghoul.”

 

“If they're just eating dead things, why are they so dangerous then? I mean, those nails were long.”

 

Lu Han nodded. “True. Usually ghouls live, just a handful, in less populated cities beneath cemeteries or near to one. Their numbers have gone down mostly in the last couple centuries. Usually we only encounter them when there's a war going on. They feast on decaying human flesh and only human flesh. They get sick if it's alive. For a scavenger creature, we should get on without much fear from them, but they are territorial as fuck. The moment they sense you, they’ll jump and they know exactly where to jump in their area to get you. They’ll chase you until you’re either out of their area or dead. And if you’re dead, then they get a meal.”

 

“But, this thing has been killing people and eating them, attacking them outside of places like that,” Jongin said. “There’s not enough room in Seoul for them to have a real territory.  It can't be a ghoul.”

 

“Gray body and sickly looking. Milky eyes, and an infinity for sparkly things, strong legs and clawed hands so they can dig through dirt and spring out – those all describe a ghoul to a ‘T’, Jongin. But more specifically, you described a queen.”

 

“A Ghoul Queen?” Jongin asked.

 

“Humans are very versatile creatures,” Lu Han said and reached out for Jongin's hand. “They can be turned into you and me and Jongdae, but they can also be used to create ghouls.”

 

Jongin's eyes widened and he jolted away, but Lu Han kept a firm grip of his hand. “So they are zombies.”

 

“No, they weren't born humans,” Lu Han said. “Just their fathers. Think of them like bees except a Ghoul Queen actually does work. She's trying to create a colony. Only the Ghoul Queen can reproduce so she goes off, seduces a human male, kills him, and brings him back. If she gets pregnant then she can hope for a girl who can then go off and create her own group of ghouls. But, they don't only bring back their mates, they attack living humans, eat parts of them while they’re still alive, then bring the dead bodies back to their hordes. Queens can only eat live human flesh in order to give birth. As soon as the body is dead, they are of no use.”

 

“So, we're dealing with a queen, but where's her horde?” Jongin asked.

 

“Considering she's been leaving the bodies, it seems she hasn't started hers yet,” Lu Han said and started to roll up Jongin's sleeves on the arm he was holding.

 

“So, is she really that high of a threat?”

 

“She is because she is strong and if she gets her horde, she'll be stronger. She may have one and just not have brought them into the city with her. She may be trying to start her own, but still be part of her mother's. All we know is they're planning something,” Lu Han said and suddenly pressed his nail into Jongin's wrist.

 

Jongin hissed in slight pain. Lu Han brought out a cloth and wrapped it around the cut letting the few drops of blood that seeped out soak into the cloth before the wound healed.

 

“What was that for?” Jongin asked.

 

“There's one more thing we need to consider about Ghouls,” Lu Han said as he held up the blood dotted clothe to the sky where the moon was slowly growing full for the month ignoring Jongin’s question.

 

“And that is?” Jongin prompted.

 

Lu Han lowered the cloth and tied it around his own wrist. “A ghoul's favorite food.”

 

“You just said they ate humans.”

 

“Yes, that's their only food source,” Lu Han agreed. He had started petting the cloth. Jongin reached out and grabbed his hand to make him stop.

 

“What are you doing, Lu Han?”

 

Lu Han looked up surprised then suddenly leaned forward, his cloth free  wrapped hand holding onto the back of Jongin’s head as he kissed him suddenly. Jongin kissed back confused and moved his hands to cup Lu Han's face when they pulled apart.

 

“What is it, Lu Han? You're acting weird.”

 

Lu Han licked his lips and looked away before his body suddenly became stiff.

 

Jongin smelled it before he could ask what was wrong.

 

Perfume.

 

Immediately, he grabbed Lu Han's hand and started to run.

 

Lu Han fumbled as he ran with Jongin, untying the clothe with his teeth. Jongin looked back ready to yell at Lu Han to stop whatever weird fetish he was having with his blood and that cloth when he saw it, far in the distance, a ghoul. She glittered with all the piercings and jewelry and mask and the shiny glint of her large claws. She knelt and jumped. Jongin barely felt it as he missed his own jump onto the next roof as he watched the cloth Lu Han had been messing with float away. It caught the ghoul's attention and she immediately went the other way after it.

 

They fell onto the hard ground of a back alley in a tumble. Jongin kept Lu Han held tight to him as they banged into a couple crates, scaring an alley cat that ran off in a hissing fit. Jongin righted himself still holding Lu Han to him and finally looked down. Lu Han turned his head, the chocolate of his eyes wavering as he breathed harshly. His heart was beating fast, just as fast as Jongin's. It was beating right against Jongin's chest. Without a second thought, Jongin leaned in and bit into Lu Han's neck.

 

“J-Jongin!” Lu Han gasped.

 

Blood, Lu Han's blood. Alive and warm and delicious in his mouth. He was alright. They were both alright. He'd been so afraid. That smell, Jongin had been terrified of it from the very beginning of his transformation. What was it? Sickly sweet, like a teenager's love diary sprayed in a hundred different colognes and perfumes. A smell strong enough to cover the scent of rotting flesh, but still sweet, still inviting.

 

“It's...it's you Jongin,” Lu Han said as he reached his arms up and brought Jongin closer to him, tilting his head more invitingly. “Vampires. Hyper humans. Ghouls, back in the medieval time and before, they were vampire's biggest pests. And you, you were born a vampire, Jongin. She wants you. She wants all of yous.”

 

#### $

 

If Jongin could sweat, he would have soaked through the expensive tailored black suit he had let Lu Han adorn him in when he went to prep for the meeting at the bank. Instead, Jongin was confident he was glowing with some kind of godly radiance as all the other attendees of the meeting kept looking over at him. He tried to keep a stern face and not fiddle with his cuffs.  He didn't have to agree to loan to this business, but he did need to find someone to loan to that could afford the repay. And if things went well, Jongin might actually be able to talk this hotel chain into investing in their bank. That was the real goal here. He had one thing up his sleeve that he hadn't talked with any of the staff about, but Junmyeon was a go for it. Jongin had already researched that many of these men waiting outside the meeting room with him were already invested in Kim Ho Bank. If they could become brother companies, then Jongin could widen his range of potential investors.

 

The fact of the matter, though, was Jongin had never done this before. He didn't have anyone with him. Lu Han had work at the bank and his father hadn't mentioned anyone else coming as back up. Jongin was it. Send the heir, but only the heir. It would confuse the hotel owners. Were they not important enough for more staff or so important that the very heir of the bank had been sent? Jongin figured it wasn't the most important asset to work with these hotel owners, but he was going to make it important. He was sure his father wanted him to fail. After Jongin's threat, he didn't want Jongin to take over. He couldn't use Jongin as a puppet until Jongin had a kid and his father could sneakily raise that child to be like him. Jongin didn't think he'd have a child, though, so his father was out of luck there as well as here. No matter how nervous, Jongin had to do this. After all, he had to be worth something if a Ghoul Queen was going to be chasing after him.

 

Seeing the monster for a second time left a bad taste in Jongin's mouth that even Lu Han's blood couldn't cover up. The fear of that smell had confused him on multiple occasions, but now he understood it was instinct. A Ghoul Queen could give birth to stronger ghouls if she mated with a vampire (a rare chance that would be successful), but also feasting on a vampire would make her stronger. And apparently they just tasted good. Lu Han had explained all that though he ensured Jongin they still weren't a hundred percent on it, well, at least until now. Lu Han had seen the monster as well when they'd run away. Apparently, Yixing had been getting whiffs of the monster walking around using his own blood, but his instincts always told him to immediately run and Zitao was too overprotective to stay too far behind his lover. Now they were sure, though, but Lu Han still found it odd. Ghouls didn't come to the cities unless they were infested with death. Currently, the warring countries in Africa and the Middle East and North Korea were really the only places with high concentrations of ghouls. There was about one family of them in every country that buried their dead, but far fewer than before. For the most part, they were just like any wild animal, like worms burrowing beneath the earth and coming up to decompose decaying things, but their queens made them dangerous and this queen was very dangerous. It was a worry Jongin couldn't think about as they were ushered into the meeting.

 

Jongin tried his hardest to pay attention to every detail and adjust his offer to the owners later. He went through every textbook and every case of a similar past deal in his head until finally they were done. He waited until the other meeting attendees were done talking to the owners before making his appearance known. He pinpointed the lead man and stood straight and as endearing as all his vampire charms would allow him. It seemed to work. The owners immediately looked to him.

 

“Ah, you're from Kim Eun Bank, correct?” one of the men asked.

 

“Yes, I am Kim Jongin,” Jongin said and reached out to hand over his business card that Lu Han had helped him make just that morning.

 

The owners looked at Jongin's card and their eyes widened before handing him one of theirs. “Oh, we didn't realize you were the son. We were concerned when Kim Eun Bank only sent one attendee when we had sent them an open invitation.”

 

“Yes, as I am to take over the bank not far from now, I decided to start putting my hand into our dealings. If you will, shall we discuss what you might be looking for in a loan or other investments with our bank? We have many services that I believe would be beneficial.”

 

The men seemed unsure and one spoke up. “Well, we were interested in your bank, but we recently looked into another that's closer to the building site of our new hotel and they're willing to work with us on deals with our payments to our workers.”

 

Jongin had considered the location might be an issue. “Yes, I did see you decided to change the location from what you initially had come to us with, but I have been speaking well with the CEO of Kim Ho Bank. They have a location close to your new hotel. We're thinking of a sort of partnership for easy fluidity of money between us. Dealing with checks would be free of charge, of course, and there would only be a small fee for anything else. You may also consider the location of your other hotels that are mostly populated in the southern cities outside Seoul and in Jeju. Kim Ho Bank has a few branches in those areas, but they also branch out more to the north.”

 

The men looked between each other. “Say we wanted to move all our business to Kim Eun Bank and it's partnering with Kim Ho Bank. What sort of special deals could you give us?”

 

Jongin felt bad. These rich men were always looking for ways to lose the least amount of money, but he was going to be the owner of a bank and his sole purpose was to cheat people into giving him more when they're thinking they were getting away with less. At least people like these. “Certainly. We could definitely work something out. I've recently had a talk with a few entertainment companies and they seemed interested as well.”

 

That was a lie. Jongin just talked Taemin and Wonsik into moving their money to his bank after five years of it. But, the men seemed interested. They knew Jongin had idol friends.

 

“We will have to do some calculating, but we will definitely be talking with you again, Kim Jongin,” the men said and reached a hand out.

 

Jongin shook their hands with a bow. “It is my pleasure to do business with you. I am still young and inexperienced, but I hope you will consider my words.”

 

With that, Jongin excused himself to catch a few of the other attendees from the meeting to plant more seeds. If he was going to own one of the top banks in South Korea, he was going to have to be ambitious.

 

#### $

 

Deep breaths. Jongin took them one after the other very slowly as he laid on his bed at home with his cellphone on his stomach beeping with a warning that the battery was dying. They hadn't called. Not that Jongin should have expected them to call the same day, but Jongin had hoped he was a miracle talker and could convince the men to invest in Kim Eun Bank. Kim Eun – Jongin thought perhaps he should change the name, but not this century.

 

His cell phone beeped again and Jongin finally stood and walked over to his charger plugged into the wall across the room.

 

“You seem a bit down, Kim Jongin.”

 

Jongin immediately turned and smiled seeing Lu Han perched on the sill of his window dressed in his hunter gear. “And what are you doing here?”

 

Lu Han slid off the sill and closed the window with a lock. He shifted to face Jongin and returned the smile. “I just switched off my patrolling with Jongdae. He's taking Baekhyun with him as bait, but I doubt they'll get much done. Baekhyun's the biggest scaredy cat of all vampires I've ever met.”

 

“Well, there are reasons to be scared,” Jongin said as he moved back to his bed and leaned against the headboard.

 

“Yes. Even vampires should be scared. Um, I went to your studio, but...” Lu Han trailed off looking around Jongin's room.

 

“I got kicked out,” Jongin said. Now that he thought about it, Lu Han had never visited him at home. Well, he was sure Lu Han knew where he lived, but he'd never actually been in his room or the house for that matter. Jongin patted the space on the bed beside him. “Did you have news? Or did you just come looking to spend time with your boyfriend?”

 

Lu Han stared at the spot on the bed Jongin was patting then turned and removed his trench coat. He laid it on Jongin's desk chair and it made a few clinking sounds as his weapons hit together. When Lu Han faced Jongin again, he seemed much less confident, but he crawled into the bed with Jongin anyways, stopping with his feet dangling off. “I can't take off my shoes, I'm sorry.”

 

Jongin blinked and looked at the stiletto boots...or jeggings. “Are they all together with your pants?”

 

“Yeah. These are my favorite. They move the best with me and I can adjust them,” Lu Han said pointing out seams that were actually just laces..

 

Jongin sat back again and tried not to think about the pants too much. Lu Han was just there to spend time with him. He reached out and pulled Lu Han closer not caring at the moment if Lu Han's boots got dirt on his bed. It took a minute, but Lu Han settled in beside Jongin with a soft sigh, his head on Jongin's shoulder and fluffy bed head styled hair tickling Jongin's neck.

 

“How was the meeting?” Lu Han asked.

 

“I think it went well. They weren't pleased only one person showed up from our bank, but they felt better when they realized I was the heir. I think the hair throws people off, but I don't want to keep dying it. I'll just make it my selling point,” Jongin said and lifted a hand to pet Lu Han's own hair. “Yours is getting lighter. How long until it's blonde?”

 

“Do you want it to be blonde?”

 

“I don't have a preference,” Jongin said. He'd been surrounded with people who naturally had black or dark hair so that had always been his default.

 

“I'll let it fade,” Lu Han replied. “You seemed to be waiting for something. I...well I didn't come in right away. I wasn't sure if someone else was coming home.”

 

“No one is coming” Jongin said. “I think my mother got herself a boyfriend, a real one and the housekeeper leaves before ten, before eight if she can help it. I was just hoping I'd get a call about the meeting, but it's already midnight.”

 

“Are you going to come watch me dance tomorrow?” Lu Han asked.

 

“Of course. If you're going to.”

 

Lu Han hummed. Jongin turned his head and leaned down so his nose and part of his face was buried in Lu Han's hair. The hunter made an amused sound at the action.

 

“If it makes you feel better, Suho got a call from the hotel. Since he's currently getting ready to swap personas, he can't take in any new business transactions, but I think he put in a good word for you. If he had it his way, he'd merge your bank and his bank together.”

 

Jongin frowned. “Maybe in a couple of decades when I have to change personas, but not right now.”

 

“Are you going to go work for Suho when you do?” Lu Han asked.

 

“I don't know. Do you want me to? You seem to have a good opinion of him.”

 

“Is that jealousy?” Lu Han's voice was teasing and he reached a hand out to take Jongin's. The tips of his fingers were soft and warm, but the leather of his fingerless glove was rough.

 

“Can't I be? Obviously, you attract people.”

 

“You have a history, too, Kim Jongin. I wasn't too pleased every time you mentioned spending the night out with someone,” Lu Han shot back.

 

Jongin sighed and shifted so he could kiss Lu Han's forehead. “Sorry. I thought you didn't like me. I was trying to see if you would get jealous.”

 

“Yeah, well you didn't even exist the last time I dated, so...”

 

“Lu Han,” Jongin called softly.

 

Lu Han turned his head with an unamused expression. Jongin leaned down and kissed him anyways. A couple pecks and Lu Han had lightened up.

 

“Shit, why are you so much younger than me,” Lu Han groaned and nuzzled his head against Jongin's shoulder.

 

“We've been over this. You're twenty. I'm twenty-five. You've just been twenty for a long ass time.”

 

Lu Han laughed and looked up at Jongin. He shifted on the bed throwing one leg over one of Jongin's and turned his torso so they could kiss better. Slowly, but with long deep kisses that turned opened mouth. Jongin found that the smaller version of Lu Han's fangs could elicit the same heart racing sensation as his long vampire ones could as Lu Han nipped his way down his neck then bit.

 

“Lu Han!” Before Jongin knew it, he'd grabbed the hunter and held him flat onto the bed, hands held over his head. He bared his teeth and growled, but he didn't feel threatened.

 

Lying below him, Lu Han was surprised at first, but made a soft noise, almost a mewl, of submission and Jongin understood this was bloodlust, not in the sense of carnage or revenge, but the need to feel something alive and against his body. His veins sung with it. Jongin wondered if this was the feeling Lu Han had when he'd forced himself to sleep with women as a vampire.

 

“Jongin, your eyes,” Lu Han said softly.

 

Jongin blinked. “Oh, sorry, are they scary?”

 

Lu Han laughed. “Why would I be scared of you? I was a vampire once, too. I can become one again. I know exactly what you're feeling. Can you let go of my arms?”

 

Reluctantly, Jongin let go of Lu Han's arms, but stayed hovered over him. Lu Han stretched, one of those moans escaping him. It made Jongin's veins vibrate more. His blood was singing. They'd just been kissing, but Jongin was already so turned on, more so than with anyone else.

 

Lu Han reached out and cupped Jongin's face slowly bringing it down to kiss again in the same rhythm as before, but the beat was faster. Jongin nestled himself between Lu Han's legs and pressed down. It caused Lu Han to gasp and turn away from the kiss. Jongin moved to kissing Lu Han's neck, hands itching to touch Lu Han, but he wasn't sure where he was allowed. He wanted to rip all of Lu Han's clothes off and make a mess of him, but kissing felt so good and everything inside of him felt good, but he could feel even better buried inside of Lu Han.

 

“Jongin, don't tease me,” Lu Han warned.

 

“But, I...” Jongin wanted to tease and tease Lu Han, but that wasn't the teasing Lu Han meant. Jongin could feel Lu Han's pleasure. If he bit him, it'd probably be more than he'd tasted before. “We've only been on one date.”

 

“Two, but I don't give a fuck about that. I didn't come here to just cuddle,” Lu Han said.

 

Jongin leaned away and looked down at Lu Han. “You came looking for me to have sex?”

 

Lu Han's eyes widened then lowered. His eyes sparkled and were soft, but his lashes fluttered, nervous. “I just wanted to see you. I'm not...I don't know how to feel about wanting to be with someone and not wanting their blood, Jongin. I don't need you, but I want you. You've wanted me, too, right?”

 

Yes, yes Jongin had wanted Lu Han before he needed him. “Is it really okay?”

 

Lu Han sighed and rolled his eyes. “I haven't had sex in eighty years. If I leave this to you, you're going to make it a hundred.”

 

Jongin couldn't help but let out a small laugh. “Alright, I understand. I don't think I can say no again, either.”

 

They met halfway for another kiss. Jongin fought his urge to bite Lu Han as he kissed down his neck and moved his hand to the corset around Lu Han's waist. He smiled with glee when he managed to get it off with Lu Han only lifting his waist to help. Wearing that corset the other day had been a great help. Jongin easily parted Lu Han's blouse and growled that same lusty growl from when Lu Han bit him. Lu Han was slim and had slender shoulders, but the cuts in his chest were deeper than those in his abs. He still had muscle, though, and Jongin knew he was strong. There was proof of that in the feint white cuts the decorated here and there from when Lu Han had trained as a human. He kissed along Lu Han's sternum then teasingly licked a bright pink nipple until it peaked. Lu Han made soft noises accompanied by a frustrated growl much deeper than his voice. Jongin moved lower, kissing and nipping LuHan's stomach. He knew what was annoying Lu Han. He could see the bulge stretching the leather of Lu Han's pants. With his teeth, he nipped at the leather then buried his whole face in Lu Han's crotch and groaned.

 

“Wh-what? What are you doing, Jongin?” Lu Han asked leaning up a bit.

 

“How the fuck do I get these things off you?” Jongin asked, voice muffled by the frustrating pants. “There's no zipper or buttons.”

 

“F-first move your head. You're going to make it more difficult,” Lu Han stuttered.

 

Right, his voice probably wasn't helping Lu Han's situation. Jongin sat up and looked at Lu Han defeated. Lu Han smiled. Maybe he thought it was funny that Jongin couldn't get him naked. But, the corset had been easy. Lu Han lifted his hips and ran a finger along the crotch seam that had the same crisscross pattern as the seams on the sides of Lu Han's pants.

 

“It's like a shoelace, but from the back,” Lu Han instructed.

 

Jongin replaced Lu Han's fingers with his own and moved them to the back where he felt a small bow and pulled. It came undone and he started to loosen the seams. Eventually, just spreading Lu Han's legs widened the seams enough that Jongin could see everything.

 

“No underwear?” Jongin asked.

 

Lu Han's face was splotchy from heat and embarrassment. “Do you think I would wear them with these kind of pants?”

 

Jongin suddenly grinned. “I'm not taking these off.”

 

“What?”

 

Jongin played with the laces and loosened them more. He pulled Lu Han's hard on out between a few laces and started to stroke it. “I mean, you're the one that wears these kind of things. You even still have your gloves on.”

 

“Oh, g-ah~!” Lu Han started to protest but moaned being played with and covered his face with said gloved hands. Eventually, he composed himself enough, hips lightly moving with Jongin's hand, to make a full sentence. “Get lube.”

 

Jongin didn't need to be told twice. He moved over to one of his bedside drawers and pulled out the last bottle of lube he'd bought a few months back. He actually hadn't had sex in at least six months now that he thought about it and the lube wasn't even opened. He quickly unwrapped the plastic and settled between Lu Han's legs again.

 

“Do I need a condom?” Jongin asked and started to pull off the long sleeved t-shirt he'd put on when he got home.

 

“Why, we can't catch anything long term, our cells heal too fast,” Lu Han said. “If you're worried about it, use one.”

 

“I don't have any, that's why,” Jongin said and coated his fingers in lube. “I’ll clean you well afterwards. Can you spread out more?”

 

Lu Han did so, one hand still over his face. Jongin slowly started his work, one finger at a time, between the loosened laces of Lu Han's pants until he had three worked in and Lu Han was rocking his hips. Jongin removed his fingers and slid his boxers down. He stroked himself and waited for Lu Han to look at him.

 

“Jongin? Oh...hi,” Lu Han said, eyes immediately going to Jongin's hand stroking himself.

 

Jongin chuckled at the reaction. “Are you sure about this?”

 

Lu Han frowned. “I appreciate you asking and all, but I'm not the least bit scared of this. Well, not of you. I'm really really comfortable, Jongin.”

 

Relief eased Jongin's body. So Lu Han wasn't pushing himself. Jongin settled over Lu Han and aligned himself, the laces of Lu Han's pants, teasing his sensitive flesh. Lu Han placed his hands on Jongin's shoulders and slowly started feeling around his back and sides. Once he was fully distracted by his touching, Jongin pushed in.

 

Lu Han's head leaned back and his nails dug into Jongin's shoulders. He was tight in an almost uncomfortable way, but loosened not even a second later.

 

“I...thought that was going to be worse than it was,” Lu Han said softly.

 

Jongin leaned down and kissed softly at Lu Han's jaw and up to the corner of his eye. “It's your first time with a man after all . I'm not going to hurt you.”

 

Lu Han turned his head and captured Jongin's lips. Slowly, Jongin started to move and Lu Han matched him, raising his hips and eventually hooking his legs around Jongin's waist. Warm and wet, tight then loose, the sensations were so good. Jongin kept himself close to Lu Han as they rocked so he could smell, hear, feel the hunter's blood as it flowed faster, but he kept himself from biting. At least for their first time, Jongin didn't want to include his vampire side in the pleasure even if his eyes stayed the same and his nails grew and dug into the bed as he felt pleasure pooling more and more in his belly. Not once did Lu Han move his hands from exploring Jongin's shoulders and torso, though mostly they just held tight around his neck when their lips met in a kiss. He gave small signals with a jerk of his hips when Jongin touched against his prostate the right way and other sensitive areas.

 

“Jongin,” Lu Han moaned as he started to arch up, pushing his member against Jongin's abs. “Faster.”

 

On the verge of his own end, Jongin tried his best to go faster, but the exertion made him slow, at least slow as far as a vampire went. It must have been enough. He felt the wetness splash against his stomach followed by Lu Han tightening around him. A couple more thrusts and he spilled into a jelly like Lu Han.

 

“Lu Han,” Jongin said, leaning down to nuzzle his nose against Lu Han's face, taking in his scent.

 

“I'm alive,” Lu Han said softly. “I just...I don't want to move. I'm all tingly and...I don't think I've really ever climaxed from my own pleasure. The blood, you can taste pleasure and you...well you didn't even bite me.”

 

Jongin leaned down and kissed Lu Han softly. “Do you want to stay the night?”

 

“I don't sleep in these kind of clothes,” Lu Han said still not moving. “And won't your housekeeper be here in the morning?”

 

Jongin reluctantly rolled off his bed and grabbed the shirt he'd worn earlier to the meeting, bringing it back, and covered Lu Han with it. “Just wear this. You like my suits, right?”

 

Lu Han immediately wrapped his arms around the shirt and brought it to his face. “I like you naked, too. You're...pretty.”

 

Jongin got back in bed and shuffled up against Lu Han. “I actually feel kind of sleepy, but we should shower.”

 

Lu Han turned so Jongin could hold him from behind, their hot skin melting into each other. “In a minute Jongin. First, you have to figure out how to get my pants off.”

 

Jongin groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated.


	16. Amicus Certus in Re Incerta

16\. Amicus Certus in Re Incerta  

 

    Whistling was not a pastime Jongin enjoyed often, but after a day spent typing away at an old computer hooked up with the bank's database in an unused office, Jongin felt it was the time for whistling. He hadn't gotten the hotel deal, but two of the other men at the meeting decided to make loans with them and one of the hotel owners moved a large sum into their bank. His father hadn't been pleased, but with the interest rates and safety precautions Jongin had snuck in, money would be made in the long run or short if Jongin decided to pull a few strings. He had done a good job, and not able to ignore that, Jongin had been given an old space as his own and an agreed upon allowance based on his deals. He still didn't have an actual title in the bank other than heir. He needed to work there more and that would mean quitting Krystal's Wiches. But, for now, Jongin whistled clutching a red marked up newspaper and sipping a hot chocolate from a coffee cup.

 

Friday nights were Lu Han nights even though the previous night was more of a Lu Han night. It was another reason to whistle getting to hold his long time crush after ten years. Lu Han was the best. The hunter had been a mix of shy and excited and Jongin had felt like a plain mess though Lu Han assured that he was the mess and Jongin was a little shit for being so composed. He'd never been so excited to have sex and just the pure hyper awareness of another body moving with his was amazing. Jongin honestly couldn't wait to attempt sex with Lu Han while feeding. He'd almost tried when Lu Han stopped by to congratulate him. He'd gotten a make out session, but Lu Han was probably still off put by the housekeeper going into Jongin's room and finding someone else in Jongin's bed. He knew the housekeeper hadn't realized Lu Han was a boy. Wearing Jongin's shirt with white legs wrapped in his sheets and eyeliner smeared across his face, he looked more like a ravaged angel, gender aside.

 

On a dance mat, though, Lu Han looked a whole nother fierce. Lu Han had on a red tracksuit this time, unusually dressed down for a street performance, where, even if they were work out clothes, he normally wore something with more than one color or style. He still danced as perfect as ever, though Jongin recognized a few steps changed that particularly dealt with Lu Han getting on the ground and snickered to himself on his spot against the wall. Lu Han threw him a glare at one point before ending his show and walked over to Jongin after talking to his fans.

 

“Were you laughing, Kim Jongin?” Lu Han asked and poked Jongin none too gently in his stomach.

 

Jongin faked a pained groan, but grinned. “So what if I was? I thought you were sore.”

 

“I was sore. I just...heal like you do. Maybe next time I'll take your position and you can see how it is,” Lu Han threatened.

 

It wasn't a threat to Jongin. “I don't particularly mind. But that does mean there will be a next time, right?”

 

Lu Han didn't say anything, but gathered his mat and music and came back to Jongin, grabbing the newspaper out of his hand. “What's this? It's all marked up. You're not looking for jobs again, are you?”

 

“Oh, well since I'm getting an allowance now, I thought I'd go ahead and look for a new apartment.”

 

“Right, you got kicked out of the studio.”

 

Jongin made a face. “He got permission to turn all the studios into actual apartments so I'd have to sign a new contract. I wasn't paying for the studio before.”

 

“Okay, but did your housekeeper kick you out of the house, too? Your mother?” Lu Han asked.

 

“No, my mother probably doesn't know that the housekeeper caught us or she didn't tell her. Honestly, I haven't seen much of my mother lately. She's either out with friends or on a date, or just doesn't come anywhere I am.”

 

“Hmm, well, she probably doesn't know how to talk to you anymore.”

 

“I haven't told her I met my real mother,” Jongin said. “I don't really know what to say about it. She can't meet her. Narsha doesn't look much older than us, maybe early forties if we push it. I don't know if she'd buy my father sleeping with a twelve year old though.”

 

Lu Han gagged. “That's disgusting. I know I was born in a time where sometimes younger girls were married off, but even then I found it unsavory. Did you find any interesting apartments?”

 

Jongin took the paper back from Lu Han. “Yeah, I was thinking about going around and taking a look. Want to come?”

 

Lu Han smiled. “I can tag along for a while. I have the midnight go about tonight. Oh, but I have an early patrol tomorrow. Where you going to look at apartments tomorrow, too?”

 

“Maybe during the day. I think I'll go see if my friends are available. We'll hang out in more popular areas and I'll make sure they get home safely,” Jongin insured.

 

“If you're sure,” Lu Han said. “I guess that's all we really can do for them. Anyone you're seen with could be a potential candidate if that ghoul really is tailing you or just vampires in general. Your idol friends are already well known to be friends with the Kim Eun Bank's heir.”

 

“Hmm, yeah. Oh, what do you think of this one,” Jongin said and pointed out an apartment on the paper.

 

“That's a studio. I thought you were getting an allowance, not a one time pay check.”

 

“Okay, then this one?”

 

Lu Han was silent before taking the paper back and looked through all of them. “All you circled are just one rooms with kitchenettes and a bathroom. You can at least afford a bedroom and a livingroom.”

 

“I don't really need that much space,” Jongin said. The thought of owning a whole apartment had never really occurred to him. He still found it odd to even live in an actual house.

 

“You're ridiculous, Kim Jongin. I'll look up some good ones if you aren't wanting to be the little prince you are,” Lu Han said.

 

“I've never gotten use to being rich,” Jongin said. His drink was empty. He looked around for a trashcan to throw it in.

 

“I'm sorry...I...”

 

Jongin turned towards Lu Han confused. “What?”

 

“I've always had money. Even as a vampire. Before I got taken away and turned, we did lose everything, but we hadn't actually started living like that yet. And when I became a vampire, Narsha gave me whatever I wanted. She treated me like her son. I was even a soldier for a while, and that was pretty dirty work, but I never worried about not having money. Sometimes I didn't have any, but I could always just get some later.” Lu Han was looking up at the sky with an odd look in his eye. “Man, and I became a hunter to be more human, but I'm still pampered by that society, too.”

 

Jongin reached out and grabbed Lu Han's opposite shoulder, bringing him in tight against him. “It's okay. Be glad you haven't felt envy.”

 

“I've felt envy. I might have had money, but I lost a lot of things and never had others, but I just never considered that. I'll keep it in mind when I look,” Lu Han assured and tapped his head against Jongin's.

 

“You just wanting to help me makes me happy, Lu Han. You make me happy.”

 

“Tch, stop being a flatterer. We're not wearing masks right now so I can't kiss you to shut you up.”

 

Jongin grinned. “You still could, just give me ten minutes to lose the reporters tailing me.”

 

Lu Han leaned away and walked ahead of Jongin before turning with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I'll give you five and you meet me in the park.”

 

Jongin folded his newspaper and put it in his back pocket. “Deal.”

 

**$**

 

“Ah man, it's good to get some free time finally,” Taemin said as Jongin came back to their usual spot at Yixing's bar with their orders. “It's good when Wonsik and I get busy at the same time, but then I always worry about outshining him on stage.”

 

“Well, you are a longer running band than him, but his band has got some pretty good fans, too,” Jongin said and removed his mask to start nursing whatever drink it was Yixing had handed him all purified for his vampire sensitivities.

 

Taemin downed half his beer before replying again. “Yeah, that's true, and it's not like this is a solo debut for me. I'm back with my group on this one. And it’s in Japan. Ah, but my boyfriend's starting to get annoying.”

 

“Don't you guys usually take a break during albums?” Jongin asked.

 

“Yeah, but he wants to stop doing that. Really, no one else can compare, no offense,” Taemin said.

 

Jongin coughed on his drink “No, no, I'm perfectly fine if you don't bring that up.”

 

“Really? But wasn't that the best sex you'd had?” Taemin asked amusement already twinkling in his eyes. “I rode you like a champ.”

 

Jongin groaned. “Yes, yes you did, but if I remember correctly, I said 'emotionally' you were the best I'd had up to that point.”

 

“And you've had better since?”

 

He couldn't help but smile. Though they hadn't had a chance for a second go, Jongin didn't feel like he needed that right now. He was still living off the memories of his first time with Lu Han. Though not perfect, Jongin had just been so happy to have that man in his arms finally. Lu Han must have been holding off for such a long time because of how scared he was. Jongin was glad the hunter had felt comfortable enough to come to Jongin himself. “Yes I have.”

 

Taemin's eyes widened. “Oh, who? Did you get yourself a boyfriend?”

 

“Yes I did and you have to guess?” Jongin thought it was an easy guess. He couldn't stop from smiling now that he could actually talk to his longest running friend about it.

 

Leaning forward, Taemin studied Jongin, eyes narrowed and lips pressed. “Hmm, well you're not into girls or else I'd say the one from the deli you work at. As for guys, who do you know? Not any of the guys that work here, they all have boyfriends. Ah, the Chinese dancer that works at your bank.”

 

Jongin instantly lit up.

 

“You finally slept with your crush? Congratulations,” Taemin said and reached out to pat Jongin on the shoulder enough to turn it red. “I'm real happy for you. And now I feel bad complaining about my boyfriend. If you can wait ten years to have the best sex of your life, I can wait a month.”

 

“Um, thanks I guess. I wish you could meet him, but he's busy,” Jongin said.

 

Taemin nodded and lifted an arm to get the bartender's attention signaling more beer.

 

“You're drinking more? Are you sure you don't want food to go with it?”

 

“No, I've got to keep to a diet, but I don't have to practice until the afternoon tomorrow so I'll risk the hangover. Besides, we've got to celebrate you finally getting your crush. And since Wonsik isn't here, I’ve got to take his fill.”

 

Jongin just sighed and watched as Taemin drowned one beer after another. At least if Taemin passed out, he'd be able to make sure his friend got back to his dorms safe without risking him going somewhere else. However, Jongin didn't consider that Taemin could take a few and he wasn't the type to just pass out right away.

 

“Jongin~ I want a pizza,” Taemin complained.

 

“You said you had to diet for your new album with your group.”

 

Taemin pouted and started to try and take his jacket off. Jongin planned to leave soon and it was still cold outside. He forced Taemin to keep it on. “We have to leave soon, Taemin.”

 

“Jongin~,” Taemin whined. “Fine, but I want something garlicky and tomatoey before we go. I'm not leaving until then.”

 

Jongin sighed. “How about I see what they've got here that you can eat?”

 

Taemin nodded then slumped sideways on the booth.

 

Jongin headed to the counter and Yixing was immediately in front of him. “Need a cab?”

 

“No, not yet. I was planning to walk him most of the way to his dorm anyways. He's not out all the way yet so he might tell the driver to go somewhere else. He wants a pizza.”

 

“We don't sell pizza here, sorry.”

 

“Yeah I know,” Jongin said. “But, do you have like garlic paste and tomato paste, maybe some bread? He's not going to stop whining until I feed him and I know they tend to starve themselves most of the day when an album is around the corner.”

 

Yixing glanced over at the booth before turning and walking into the kitchen. “Here's the last bowl of rice. It's still warm. And these are the most empty tubes of garlic and chili pastes I have. That's as close as I can get. Everything else is usually premade or meat. I just cook them up in sauces.”

 

Jongin thanked the vampire and hurried over to his friend before Taemin could just up and leave by himself.

 

“What's this?” Taemin asked looking at the bowl of rice.

 

Jongin handed him the pastes. “Here, this is as close as I could get. It'll probably be better if you just eat the rice.”

 

Taemin stared between the pastes and the rice before an evil grin spread across his face and he emptied both into the rice and mixed. He took a spoon himself, shrugged, and took a second then pushed the bowl towards Jongin. “Eat it.”

 

Jongin made a face. “I'm not eating that. I don't even know how you ate that just now.”

 

“Eat it or I'm not leaving with you. I'll call up some guy and go back with him,” Taemin threatened.

 

“Your boyfriend will dump you,” Jongin said. He knew the last part of the threat was a lie.

 

“Eat it,” Taemin insisted. “I made it for you.”

 

Well, he could just see about washing the taste out with Lu Han's blood. He hadn't fed in a while anyways. “Fine, you win, but you're going straight back to the dorm after this.”

 

Taemin nodded and watched eagerly as Jongin lifted a spoon to his mouth.

 

It was awful. Jongin didn't hate spicy food or garlic, but the garlic only added to the spiciness of the rice and the sheer amount of it tore a sharp line through Jongin's tastebuds and up to his sinuses. His eyes watered by the time he finished the bowl.

 

“There...ugh...” Jongin coughed when he tried to talk.

 

Taemin clapped then stood. “Alright, let's go.”

 

Jongin barely managed to take more of his drink that seemed slightly emptier than he remembered leaving it, before Taemin was out the door of the bar. When Jongin caught up with his friend, he hooked his arm around Taemin's so he wouldn't lose him. It was cold out and less busy than usual for a Saturday night in Seoul. The report had said it would rain, a cold gross kind of rain. Jongin could feel the sprinkles already.

 

“Hey, let's hurry, I didn't bring an umbrella,” Jongin said.

 

“Uh, no, I still want to hang out. How about we go to a cat cafe? Or a dog park...no wait the dog ones are probably closed. Oh, noraebang. There's one close to where you work, right?” Taemin started down the street, tugging Jongin. He took a sharp turn into an alley that almost caused Jongin to come loose. “This alley's a shortcut.”

 

“Taemin,” Jongin groaned. Well, maybe walking around would either sober Taemin up or make him more tired. Both valid for sending him home safely. He let Taemin drag him around until he knew the other was lost.

 

“You know, there isn't a noraebang close to the deli,” Jongin corrected. “There's nothing but cafes close to the deli.”

 

“Really?” Taemin asked surprised then slumped his shoulders. “I'm lost.”

 

“Yeah, I know. Come on, let's get you to the dorm.” Jongin started to lead Taemin back the way they'd come except he didn't actually know which way they'd come. He hadn't really been concerned about getting lost at first since he'd gotten use to just scaling walls and jumping off roofs with Lu Han. He could easily see where he needed to go from way up there. But, with Taemin with him, Jongin couldn't do that. He couldn't even climb like a normal human in fear Taemin would run off. He was a whiny kid when he was drunk. Or horny. He really needed to get his friend back to his boyfriend before that transition came.

 

“Um, this way,” Jongin said. He tried to smell the air, feel where things were, but no one was around back here. There weren't any clubs in this particular square and all he could smell was the garlic from the rice he'd eaten. It was still clogging his nose and making his eyes water.

 

“Hey, Jongin, I hear something.”

 

Jongin stopped. Reporters? Fans? He listened carefully. He could hear it too, something rustling and then the rustling stopped and a sharp feeling jolted his nerves. He sniffed the air, but nothing, just garlic. Something was moving again, moving very fast and from very high. Jongin didn't even bother looking up before he pulled Taemin out of the way, tumbling across the hard ground of the back alley. He was shaking as he righted himself. The faintest smell made it's way through the garlic.

 

“J-Jongin, what is that?” Taemin asked and Jongin could understand the absolute terror in his voice.

 

Perfume. Sickly sweet. Like flowers over a corpse.

 

Jongin turned already knowing what it was. But, this wasn't the queen from before. A ghoul. Male. It's body was just as sickly looking and gray as hers had been with piercings stuck here and there. And like her, it had a mask on its face, but not as ornate. The ghoul's eyes didn't seem to be focusing on either of them in particular. He seemed to be listening and smelling. It turned its head towards Taemin still on the floor staring at the creature in terror and sniffed. Then it turned its head toward Jongin and sniffed again. There was a moment's pause before it screeched and launched at Jongin.

 

There was no time to take into consideration the fact a human was present. Jongin jumped over the creature and immediately felt his nails grow and bared his fangs at the ghoul, eyes zoning in, pupils and iris taking over the whites of his eyes. The ghoul screeched back and crouched prepared to jump. It held its clawed hands out. Its pinky, pointer, and thumb were normal, but the ring and middle where like a sloth's and nowhere close to as large as the queen's had been. When it launched Jongin easily maneuvered away.

 

What was a normal ghoul doing here? It must have been having a meal down the alley or else it wouldn't have attacked. It could have attacked a normal human or Taemin if he'd gotten away from Jongin. Not that Taemin would consider that now. The fear on his face signaled how much he'd sobered up. He was paralyzed to the ground. But, the monster didn't seem to be interested in him. Why would it be? Taemin wasn't dead and Jongin was the vampire. It should have enough intelligence to understand Jongin was both the tastier meal and more of a threat.

 

Maybe Jongin could kill it. He wasn't sure what else to do about the ghoul. He couldn't let it go free just encase it attacked a human. The queen knew what she was doing, but a normal ghoul was like a worker bee. It'd give it's life to sting.

 

When the ghoul jumped at Jongin again, he ducked and raked his nails across its belly. The monster screamed and doubled over for a moment. It rolled on the ground, sickly looking blood seeping from the wound along with organs that flopped out then were pulled back in when the wound healed and the ghoul was up again. Jongin dodged it once more, but then he found himself in a corner. He could jump up onto the roofs, but that would leave Taemin open. He couldn't be one hundred percent sure the ghoul would follow him. How did he kill a ghoul? Lu Han had never told him that part.

 

The ghoul crouched, it's ugly sharp teeth showing from the bottom of the mask as it screeched, and started to jump when someone yelled from behind it. Jongin's heart almost stopped seeing Taemin on shaky legs facing the monster. He was terrified and determined, but, when he spared a glance at Jongin, there was another fear.

 

“G-ghoul!” Taemin yelled again and the monster turned to him.

 

Immediately, the ghoul jumped and knocked Taemin aside. One of his arms caught on the monster's long claws. More than blood, Jongin could see bone from the large wound made as Taemin got up again.

 

“Taemin!” Jongin yelled. This was no time for his friend to be a hero. He should have ran. Taemin should have ran the moment he saw Jongin's change.

 

“Shut up!” Taemin yelled. “This is your fault!” The ghoul kicked him and Taemin went flying across the alley, slumping against the wall.

 

Jongin didn't understand. He stopped halfway to help Taemin, eyes widening as he saw teal colored lights flutter around Taemin's arm then his whole body turning it an unrealistic pale green before coming to rest on his back in six intricately designed iridescent wings. The ghoul seemed to lose interest in Taemin even as he changed and started to sniff Jongin out again. Jongin wanted to go to Taemin, but how to get passed the ghoul? He needed to make sure Taemin was okay. That he was alive.

 

The ghoul readied itself to jump again. Just as it did, Jongin saw Taemin's eyes open, now larger and pitch black like a dark inky pool. He slowly stood on shaky legs, surely wounded more than he was letting on. Jongin took a step forward. The ghoul jumped. Jongin jumped backwards, and in his place, lights appeared like tendrils and grabbed onto the monster. It screeched, but the tendrils tightened their hold and one slipped into the ghoul's mouth silencing it as they pulled tighter and tighter.

 

“Kill it.”

 

Jongin barely heard the words croaked out in a hoarse yell from the other side of the alley where Taemin could barely stand. How? How did he kill this thing?

 

“Bite it you fucker!”

 

Jongin wanted to be surprised by Taemin's words, but he had to deal with this monster right now. He didn't know how long Taemin could keep up this power. He seemed in really bad shape. Jongin rushed forward, fighting every instinct to run away from the ghoul, and bit into the closest part of it he could. The flesh on the ghoul's arm was thin and gave way easily. Its blood was disgusting, but Jongin made sure to inject as much venom as he could before pulling away and spitting the gross thick blood out.

 

The monster screamed and screamed in muffles silence for a good five minutes. Jongin could see the light tendrils tightening around its neck, choking it as the blood caused it pain. Then, it finally went limp and a minute later, Jongin saw the light leave it's milky eyes.

 

Slowly, Taemin hobbled over to the ghoul. Jongin reached out to help Taemin, but was rejected. “I want you to look away, Jongin. I have to clean up this mess.”

 

“Taemin?” Jongin questioned.

 

“Look. Away,” Taemin repeated and fell to his knees by the ghoul.

 

Jongin turned. He could hear Taemin rustling around with the ghoul and his mumbling.

 

“Shit, and I was suppose to be on a diet.” More rustling. Then, a wet tearing sound that made Jongin want to gag. “I'm not suppose to be eating junk food like this. Tastes like shit. Need more beer. Minho's going to be mad.”

 

Jongin turned his head just slightly and wished he hadn't. Taemin's mouth as he devoured the monster was something out of nightmares. It had seemed normal, but there were hidden lines in Taemin's cheeks that allowed him to open his jaws further like a snake with rows and rows of sharp and crooked teeth like a venus flytrap’s cilia.

 

“I'm done,” Taemin said.

 

Jongin turned. Other than the ghoul's claws and traces of blood, most of it on Taemin's jacket, the ghoul was nowhere to be seen. Jongin felt sick, but tried to keep it together. Taemin was shaking and still green and glittery. “Taemin?”

 

“I hate this form. I'm too weak to go back. I...we need to go to your studio...or house.”

 

“I don't have a studio anymore and my house...Lu Han's. We'll go to Lu Han's.”

 

Taemin immediately looked up. His pitch black eyes caught Jongin off guard for a moment and he looked away. “You can't!”

 

“He's...I...he's not human,” Jongin finally said. “Not really.”

 

“Oh.” Taemin sounded defeated. “Okay.”

 

Immediately, Jongin dialed and was glad when Lu Han picked up after only two rings.

 

“Jongin?”

 

“Lu Han. I need you address.”

 

“What's wrong? You sound terrified.” Lu Han's voice was immediately on alarm.

 

“Um...we kind of just killed a ghoul. A normal one.”

 

The other line was quiet for a moment.

 

“Who is we?”

 

“Taemin. He's not in good shape. He...he saved me.”

 

Again, silence, then Jongin heard the signal for a text ding on his phone.

 

“I texted it. Get here fast.”

 

Jongin looked at the address. This was not how Jongin wanted to be invited to Lu Han's place for the first time, but he didn't have time for those kinds of thoughts. He crouched down in front of Taemin. “Get on.”

 

“You don't want to touch me. I'm disgusting right now.”

 

“Get on, Lee Taemin,” Jongin repeated.

 

There was a defeated sigh, then slowly, Jongin felt Taemin flop himself against his back, hiding his face in Jongin's neck. Jongin stood, let out a sigh, then jumped.

 

**$**

 

Jongin stared at the only opened window of the tall building across from the current skyscraper he was roosting on. The bottom four floors were part of a designer shopping mall and the next two floors were used as offices and meeting rooms. Above that started apartments that Jongin dared to not even guess the prices of. Lu Han said his was the second set of windows on the east side, the second floor of apartments. There were a lot of window sets, though, and Jongin could only guess it was the only one opened on a simple balcony. Jongin shifted Taemin on his back before jumping. He almost caught his foot on the rail of the balcony not use to the extra weight of his best friend and landed all but gracefully. Once he'd shuffled inside, Jongin let Taemin slide to the floor only for his friend to curl up in a lump.

 

“Lu Han!” Jongin called as he tried to inspect Taemin, but the other wouldn't let him touch him, swatting his hands away and trying to bury his face in the carpet.

 

Pattering feet hurried into to room the balcony led to and Lu Han appeared with tousled hair dressed in only an oversize graphic sweatshirt, boxers, and soccer themed knee socks with fuzzy slippers on his feet. “Jongin, are you two alright?”

 

“I'm mostly fine,” Jongin said as he finally grabbed hold of one of Taemin's arms, “but this one won't let me have a look at him. The ghoul slashed him and threw him at a wall. For heaven sakes, Taemin, let me look at you.”

 

“No! Don't touch me!” Taemin yelled and curled himself more into a ball.

 

Jongin frowned. He could understand Taemin not wanting to be touched by Jongin, but he couldn't understand Taemin not wanting Jongin to touch him. Obviously, there was something about his friend that Jongin hadn't known, but that wasn't his concern at the moment. He just wanted to patch Taemin up and make sure he was alright.

 

“Taemin, please. You're hurt,” Jongin said and managed to turn Taemin a bit by the arm he was holding.

 

“Stop!” One of Taemin's six light wings shifted and became a tendril like before. It started to thrash at him. Jongin was surprised by how much the lights stung against his skin when they touched it. It burned like poison.

 

“Fae Taemin!” Lu Han suddenly yelled and Taemin stopped thrashing turning to look at the hunter. Lu Han's face was hard and he stared daggers into Taemin. “I would appreciate it if you would quit stinging my boyfriend.”

 

Taemin's black eyes wavered and he looked away, body relaxing. His light wings stopped their glittering and shifted into six transparent wings like a dragonfly's but with the intricacy of a butterfly's patterns and edges. He sat up slowly, but still looked away from Jongin.

 

Lu Han knelt down in front of Taemin and reached out for the other’s arm, the arm the ghoul had slashed, and pushed Taemin's sleeve up. “Jongin, go to my fridge and bring me anything green you find. I think I have some lettuce or cabbage.”

 

Jongin nodded and stumbled stumbled around a corner finding the kitchen. He opened a large double door fridge then the bottom drawer before finding any kind of leafy greens then hurried back. He handed it to Lu Han. The hunter took the vegetable, inspected it, then started to pull off leaves. He placed a few choice ones against Taemin's gash then stared Taemin down.

 

“Do it,” Lu Han commanded.

 

Taemin pursed his lips then slowly, his wings shifted back into a glittering teal mess and moved to wrap around Taemin's arm. Soon, the leaf had molded to his skin and slowly grew to match it. “It feels gross.”

 

“I'm sorry I don't take care of plants. If it was the day time, you could just go sunbathing.”

 

Jongin didn't really understand, but he sat beside Taemin and patiently watched as Lu Han helped Taemin undress and started to cover the rest of Taemin's bruises and cuts with leafy greens. It was strange. Taemin's skin was all an unnatural pale green and looked softer, like a rose petal and the smell he was giving off matched. Freshly watered soil and cherry blossoms. Jongin had always just assumed the smell came from being outside a lot with his sports enthusiac boyfriend, but no, like the perfume smell of the ghouls, this was a unique smell. When Lu Han was done, he led Taemin to a spare room to rest and came back out to Jongin.

 

“Lu Han?” Jongin asked. The hunter seemed more stressed than he was and Jongin had just killed a ghoul.

 

“I'm sorry, I just...I've never actually treated a fairy before,” Lu Han said.

 

“Fairy? Is that what he is?” Fairy. Jongin remembered Lu Han mentioning fairies before. “Did you know he was a fairy?”

 

“You didn't know?” Lu Han asked seeming surprised.

 

Jongin shook his head.

 

“Oh, well I didn't either. I knew there was a fairy family around, but they always keep their names a secret. We usually just refer to them as Fae and a letter. Fae T. That was the fairy we had glamouring the area where that man was killed. Fae Taemin or maybe a brother.”

 

Jongin frowned. “I don't really understand. What did you do to him?”

 

“The vegetables? Well, he's kind of like a plant. He should have actually photosynthesized to heal, but there's no sun out right now. They're day creatures, fairies. It's a good thing he's been storing his magic, though glamour can take a lot out of you.”

 

“Glamour?” Jongin asked. “What is that?”

 

“An illusion of space. He has one to appear human. The Taemin you see every day is not what he really looks like but what he wants you to see. Honestly, he's more of a monster than a ghoul is. Fairies can't reproduce with humans.”

 

“He's not a monster,” Jongin defended. “I've slept with him.”

 

Lu Han came and settled on the floor next to Jongin. He placed a hand on his shoulder. “I'm sure he'd prefer the term magical creature, but yes, he is a monster. As for sex...well I didn't know you two had that sort of past, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised.”

 

“Why?” Jongin asked.

 

“Well, fairies are temperamental. They usually let one feeling overtake them for long periods of time. It took fairies years to evolve enough to overcome that. Sometimes it still shows,” Lu Han said.

 

“He ate the ghoul,” Jongin said and a shiver ran through him as he remembered the glance he’d caught.

 

“I would hope so. Fairies can stomach anything. That doesn't mean they like everything, but they can stomach it. They don't have a gag reflex,” Lu Han said.

 

Jongin snorted numbly. “That sure explains a lot.”

 

“Yes, well, with a mouth that big, you don't have room for one. They do come in handy, fairies. They will literally eat anything. We use to hunt them centuries ago for their insane hunger issues.”

 

Jongin could only nod. Taemin was a fairy. Taemin was literally a monster more so than Jongin. But, Jongin still loved him. He couldn't bring himself to think of his friend any differently. Besides, he couldn't really judge. His new favorite meal was blood after all. “Can I talk to him?”

 

Lu Han moved his hand to the back of Jongin's neck and leaned in, kissing the side of his head. “Go talk to your friend. I have to pet Lu Cat to make sure he’s not crying in the bathroom I locked him in then make a call to Yifan. I'll get the details later from you both.”

 

The hunter stood and left. Jongin took a moment to gather his thoughts before doing the same. When he was on his feet, he finally took an actual look around Lu Han's apartment. They were in one corner of Lu Han's living room. Everything was white with touches of purple and blue. There were glass bookshelves with lines and lines of books. Mostly manga and old texts. Lu Han's television was huge and he had games and electronic devices put neatly beneath it behind glass doors of the TV stand. The kitchen, Jongin remembered, had been white as well with black and silver. Jongin passed it as he made his way down a short hall to the two smaller bedrooms and a large laundry room bathroom combo. There was a very dim light coming from the last bedroom and Jongin slowly walked in. The décor was similar to a simple hotel's. A bit of green touches here and there, generic art framed on the walls, and ivory furniture. Taemin was curled up like a caterpillar in a gold and green duvet on a single wide bed with his wings, now solid again, poking out.

 

“Taemin,” Jongin called.

 

“Go away,” Taemin replied and shifted more under the cover.

 

Jongin sighed and stomped over to the bundle on the bed and grabbed hold of the duvet. Taemin kept a tight grip, but Jongin was stronger and ripped the blanket away. Immediately, Taemin sat up and roared at him, a high pitched metallic sound that had Jongin backing away instantly even without seeing Taemin's mouth open wider than his lips showing off rows and rows of needle length crisscrossing teeth.

 

“See, you are scared of me. Just go cuddle with your boyfriend or something and leave me alone.”

 

Jongin took a deep breath and curled his hands into fists. He approached the bed again. “Taemin, look at me.”

 

Taemin did. He stared blankly even as Jongin let his eyes change and his nails grow.

 

“You're a vampire, Jongin.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And I'm a monster.”

 

“Taemin,” Jongin said sadly.

 

“I am,” Taemin said and held out his green tinted hands. “I hate this form.”

 

Jongin rushed forward and grabbed Taemin's hands before he could pull them away. He knelt beside his best friend on the bed and looked at Taemin seriously, straight into those dark inky pools, but they were Taemin's eyes, the real Taemin. This was his best friend.

 

“I won't lie, Taemin, I'm a little scared, but I don't think you're ugly,” Jongin said. “You still look like the you you've been and your skin is really soft, like rose petals.” Jongin rubbed his thumbs on Taemin's hands and smiled

 

Taemin's lips quirked.

 

“Ah, you almost laughed.”

 

“Shut up,” Taemin mumbled.

 

“And your eyes are really pretty. They're big and sparkly. I could get lost in them.”

 

Taemin shook his head. “You sound just like him. I should have known you'd say the same things.”

 

“Who?” Jongin asked.

 

“Minho.”

 

Jongin smiled. “Your boyfriend knows?”

 

“Of course he does. I was barely fifteen when we started having sex. The other member I've had sex with is a werewolf and everyone in the band knows that so they know I'm not completely human,” Taemin said. “It's hard to hide that kind of thing when you're sleeping in the same house for years.”

 

Jongin nodded and finally let go of Taemin's hands.

 

Taemin sighed and ran his hands along the spots where Lu Han had mended him. “Minho's the only one I've let see me like this that isn't family. He's a weirdo. I gave him a blow job. He almost lost his dick.”

 

Jongin laughed that time. “I understand why you two keep going back to each other.”

 

“It's not that we ever actually break up, but I'm a fairy, um, my appetite...” Taemin started then trailed off.

 

“Lu Han mentioned something like that. Lust?”

 

Taemin nodded. “Sometimes I want it too much and so we fight and he lets me off the hook. It's easier just to hook up with a bunch of different people then to ride him raw.”

 

Jongin laid his head on the bed by Taemin's knee and looked at his friend adoringly. “Man, you really aren't an angel. Fairies aren't innocent at all.”

 

“No, they're not.”

 

“Jongin,” Taemin said softly.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I'm sorry.”

 

“For what?” Jongin asked.

 

“I...I knew you were a vampire. I knew the moment we saw you passed out by the bathroom that night.”

 

Jongin frowned at that. “And?”

 

“I knew Yixing was a vampire. I hadn't seen that other guy before, but I could have guessed. I didn't see him go after you. I knew the two guys that helped you home were vampires, too.”

 

“How?” Jongin asked.

 

“Vampires, older vampires, have a really good smell to them. It's not like fairies back in the day didn't eat the occasional vampire, too, but we're not fast. Vampires would be really difficult to hunt,” Taemin said. “You've always had a good smell, but then, after that night, it was stronger and I knew even without all the other signs.” One of Taemin's hands moved to Jongin's hair and started petting through his white locks. “I might have been able to stop it. Then, you wouldn't have ghouls chasing you.”

 

Jongin sighed and closed his eyes enjoying his friend's touch. “You wouldn't have been able to save me.”

 

“I could have if I'd gone with you.”

 

“No. My mother was a vampire.”

 

“Your mother? No, she's human.”

 

“My real mother, Taemin.”

 

Taemin stopped petting him and Jongin opened his eyes again.

 

“I didn't know you had a different mother,” Taemin said.

 

Jongin lifted his head and stood up moving to sit at Taemin's feet instead of kneeling. “Neither did I. Apparently, I'm the only half breed to ever exist. Since my father is human, my real mother thought I'd be human and so handed me over to him. Turns out he's got weak ass sperm. The hunters said I'd become a vampire one day anyways, the bite just made it so I wasn’t sixty when it happened.”

 

“When did you find out?” Taemin asked.

 

“Not too long ago. I didn't want to bother you or Wonsik since you guys had important stuff to prepare for. Plus, I was busy with all this crazy ghoul stuff and trying to get to a position to kick my father out of the president's chair.”

 

“I think it was good you were bitten,” Taemin said. “You've finally gained some motivation for life. People have been pushing you around for too long. Ah, but the ghoul thing sucks. I'd never seen one before, but they're even more hideous than me. And taste like shit.”

 

Jongin chuckled. “You're beautiful, Taemin, just creepy. Don't open your mouth like that, it's nightmare fuel.”

 

“Says the vampire,” Taemin responded and stuck his tongue out.

 

Jongin laughed this time. “Thank you, Taemin.”

 

“For what?”

 

Jongin reached out and pulled Taemin to him in a hug. His skin really was soft like flower petals and his wings felt like glass when Jongin's fingertips grazed by them as long as they weren’t stinging him. He closed his eyes and took in Taemin's earthy scent. It wasn't bad. Jongin could understand why Taemin's boyfriend was such a weirdo.

 

“Thank you for saving me.”

 

Taemin's skin stung Jongin when it warmed up, but Jongin tried to enjoy the warmth of his embarrassed friend as he reached out and hugged him back.

  
“Always, Jongin. Always.”


	17. Surgam

**17. _Surgam_**

 

Jongin squinted at the screen of the old computer he had set up in what was now his office at Kim Eun Bank. It was still mostly an abandoned old office space, but Jongin had at least managed to get it dusted and had the extra desks moved out. He was hoping to buy a new computer as soon as he put a payment down on an apartment. The computer itself wouldn't be too expensive, but all the added programming he'd have to hire someone to do so that it could run like the other computers in the bank would cost him. It wasn't like his father would let him do it for free. He'd only started the allowance so Jongin wouldn't go telling the new investors that his father was forcing him to do the work for free. Now with Jo Insung being criticized by the public, if Jongin got taken by another bank or a company, that would leave his father forced to hand his company over to the vice president's family or Mrs. Kim's. Or Hyoyeon who would probably just sell the bank to Kim Junmyeon. Jongin didn't think it was a bad choice, but he wanted this bank now.

 

A light knock tapped against Jongin's door and he looked away from the old screen. “Come in.”

 

A head of lightening fluffy hair poked in and brought an immediate smile to Jongin's face. “Hey, Jongin. Mind if I bother you for a bit?”

 

“Never,” Jongin said. “Come on in, Lu Han.”

 

The hunter slid in and closed the door behind him then walked over behind Jongin's desk. “You seem busy.”

 

“Not really, just figuring out how this computer works. It's so old,” Jongin said and tapped his mouse around pointlessly.

 

Lu Han lifted a hip and leaned against Jongin's desk, arms crossing above the opened line of his blazer. “I see. Your father really should give you actual work if you're going to be running the bank soon.”

 

Jongin scoffed. “That's exactly why he's not giving me work. He probably wants me to fail and then come running to him for help.”

 

“It's okay to get help, but I agree you don't want it from the president,” Lu Han said and reached out a lazy hand to touch Jongin's hair.

 

Jongin reached up and grabbed Lu Han's hand, entangling their fingers. “If you touch it, you'll mess up the gel. I'm trying to look professional.”

 

“What if I don't want you to look professional?” Lu Han asked, one eyebrow raising slightly.

 

Jongin let Lu Han's hand go and leaned back in his chair. “Saying that kind of thing makes me think you've come for a makeout break.”

 

Lu Han slid a bit more onto Jongin's desk and returned to touching Jongin's hair. “Maybe that's what I wanted. After All, you did spend that night in someone else's arms, the first night at your lover's house.”

 

Jongin blinked. Lu Han's petting was a bit rough. It was only the Monday after having killed the ghoul and finding out his best friend for over ten years was actually a fairy. He had ended up falling asleep with Taemin. But, that had also been his first night at Lu Han's place and they were lovers. “ I didn't realize. You're not jealous, are you?”

 

“Of course I am,” Lu Han said and let his fingers slide down Jongin's face as he moved his hand away. “But, I get it. You needed to be with Taemin. He's important. I'm not too thrilled about your guy's sexual history together, though.”

 

Jongin sighed. He had known this might be a problem. “We went on a vacation when I was still in college. Wonsik was suppose to come, too, but he had gotten the news he was debuting around that time and couldn't. Everyone was stressed out. We went to a hot spring resort in Japan. Taemin was taking a break with his boyfriend and he thought it was too romantic of a place to waste. It was all sexual and we went back to how things were within two weeks as soon as we got back. He got back with his boyfriend, Wonsik had a successful debut, and I stayed pinning after you.”

 

Lu Han's lips twitched in a smile at the last part. “Of course a fairy would have to have sex at a hot springs. I get it. I've done worse than sleeping with my best friend on a random vacation, remember?”

 

Jongin wasn't sure what Lu Han had done with the women he'd use for blood back when he was first turned into a vampire, but he didn't like to imagine it. “Then what's up? I'm getting the feeling you want to mess around, but there's something else, isn't there.”

 

Lu Han turned his head away. “I'm quitting.”

 

“Quitting what? I didn't know you could quit being a Monster Hunter.”

 

Lu Han laughed and turned back to look at Jongin. “Not that. I'm quitting the bank. I'll be twenty-nine in a month according to the current papers I have. I'm barely pulling it off, looking like a thirty year old. Originally, I was going to stick around until I was thirty-five or they tried to transfer me to China, but with the ghoul situation, I need more time to prepare and research.”

 

“I thought you were the fighting type, not the research type in your group.”

 

“How do you think I learn how to fight them?” Lu Han asked. “I know how you two killed that one ghoul, but I need to look into that. I don't have venom anymore.”

 

Jongin nodded. “I get it. I just...I was kind of planning to promote you when I became president.”

 

Lu Han shrugged. “I could come back. I haven't tried pretending to be a woman yet. I've heard most vampires try the gender switch at least once if they can pass for it. I've never liked the idea of being seen as a woman, but I try not to think like that now.”

 

“You want to come back and be my secretary?” Jongin asked. “The one everyone knows I'm sleeping with?”

 

Lu Han lifted himself all the way up on the desk and crossed his legs. “I could just become your wife instead.”

 

“A secretary wife? You'd do that for me?” Jongin asked and reached out a hand to lay on Lu Han's crossed knees.

 

“I'd only ever come work here again if it was for you,” Lu Han said and laid a hand on top of Jongin's.

 

“Deal,” Jongin said. “I don't care whether it's as a man or a woman, come back and work for me.”

 

Lu Han smiled at that. He picked up Jongin's hand from his knee and brought it over to his side. Jongin leaned up from his chair and met Lu Han half way with a kiss.

 

“Are we going to do things like this when I work for you?” Lu Han asked.

 

“Yes,” Jongin said and kissed Lu Han again. “And more.”

 

“Like what?”

 

Jongin moved his hand under Lu Han's blazer and started to untuck his shirt from his pants. “Hmm, what sort of things can a secretary do alone in the office with their boss?”

 

“I know of something,” Lu Han purred and pushed Jongin back into his chair with one leg.

 

Jongin watched steadily as Lu Han pulled his blazer off and threw it into Jongin's lap followed by his tie then his shirt. Lu Han ran a hand down his own naked chest before sliding off the desk and leaning over Jongin for another kiss, tongues touching and fangs poking dangerously at their lips. He pushed Jongin's chair back just enough as they kissed that when they stopped to catch their breath, he had room to slide down Jongin and under his desk.

 

“It's cramped down here,” Lu Han said as he pulled Jongin back into place.

 

“Do I need a bigger desk for what you're going to do?” Jongin asked having a pretty good guess of what was to come and his penis was already prepared for it.

 

“I can manage,” Lu Han said and started to undo Jongin's pants.

 

Jongin leaned back and watched Lu Han. His eyes were trained on the task, long lashes blinking together in quick rhythm. “Are you nervous?”

 

“I...haven't done it in a while,” Lu Han said.

 

“When?”

 

Lu Han licked his lips then bit the bottom one as if to stay his words.

 

“When?” Jongin repeated and reached a hand out to put on Lu Han's head to stop him.

 

“That night. I...I needed him to be comfortable enough that he wouldn't yell when I bit him,” Lu Han said.

 

“You should stop if it brings back bad memories.” Jongin questioned how much Lu Han had actually done with the other vampires he had dated or been interested in, but the fact he hadn't even gone this far with any of them made Jongin apprehensive to let Lu Han continue.

 

“This will be a good memory, though,” Lu Han said. Jongin couldn't argue. Lu Han's eyes twinkled with determination and the same look Lu Han had had when he'd finally agreed to date Jongin. And the night they'd had sex, Lu Han hadn't even needed to have his mind made up, it already was.

 

Lu Han's hand slid into Jongin's boxers and pulled out his pulsing member. He held it in his hand for a moment before starting to move it up and down. Jongin breath immediately hitched. Lu Han's hand felt soft for someone who had lived so long, but he could feel the rough spots of old scars that hadn't healed when Lu Han was turned. He'd seen more than a few of those when they'd had sex before, the tiniest of white knicks with stories Jongin wanted to hear. Lu Han's lips were careful as they covered his tip. He sucked so gently then licked the slit before moving slower. His much shorter fangs slid with a dangerous pressure down Jongin's shaft then up and back down as Lu Han started his rhythm. Jongin licked his own fangs promising to return the favor one of these days, but he'd have to figure out what to do about his longer fangs. He somewhat understood now Baekhyun's pleasure at being able to bite Jongdae.

 

“Lu Han,” Jongin moaned as he grew harder in the wet tightness of the hunter's mouth.

 

Lu Han mumbled something around him that only made the pleasure more before moving his head up and down faster.

 

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Lu Han pulled off immediately and curled up under Jongin's desk. Jongin cleared his throat and covered his crotch as the door opened and one of the interns poked their head in.

 

“Oh, I didn't know anyone was using this place,” they said. “Um, I'm sorry to disturb you, but have you seen a Chinese intern named Lu Han?”

 

“Y-you just missed him,” Jongin said.

 

“Alright, thank you,” the intern said and shut the door.

 

Jongin immediately stood up and walked to the door locking it. He turned back to see Lu Han sitting on his desk again rubbing at his jaw.

 

“Do you need to be somewhere, Lu Han?”

 

Lu Han turned his head. “What? No. It's an intern that's interested in me. I forgot I gave them the excuse I didn't want to date someone in the same company as me so they probably found out I was leaving. There's a meeting going on with my boss so I've got another twenty minutes.”

 

Jongin hummed at that staring at Lu Han's naked back. He started back to his desk, hands reaching out the moment he was close enough to touch Lu Han and let them slide along his boyfriend's naked skin as he took his place standing in front of him. “You've got other people after you? And I thought I was the only one you had to put up with.”

 

Lu Han chuckled and leaned back. “You should know best I'm irresistible.”

 

Jongin leaned forward and placed his hand on both sides of Lu Han's hips trapping him on his desk. “You certainly are.”

 

They met again in a kiss. Jongin broke it to run kisses down Lu Han's neck and down his chest forcing Lu Han to lean back. He licked a nipple and suckled it as Lu Han started letting out soft sounds of pleasure.

 

“Jongin~.”

 

Jongin switched to Lu Han's other nipple, the side closer to Lu Han's heart, and sunk his fangs into it. He immediately felt Lu Han's blood flow faster at the sting of the venom. He arched and reached out to grab onto Jongin. Jongin sucked, the taste of Lu Han's blood and the pleasure coating it like powder sugar making his own exposed member even harder. He unlatched himself when he could feel Lu Han's hardness bucking up against his stomach.

 

“Lu Han,” Jongin started as he placed bloody kisses on his way back up to Lu Han's face, “can I come inside you?”

 

Lu Han nodded silently. His eyes were barely opened and his body limp. Jongin lifted off Lu Han and grabbed his hips to twist Lu Han's body so he was bent over Jongin's desk. Lu Han didn't argue. His limbs were so loose from the blood drinking he could barely stand on his own. He reached out across the desk and laid his head down glancing back at Jongin.

 

“Lube?” Jongin asked. He hadn't considered that before making up his mind he wanted to fuck his boyfriend on his desk, but he wasn't going to do anything that might hurt Lu Han even if the damage would only last a fraction of what it would with a normal human.

 

“Inside...blazer...pocket,” Lu Han panted.

 

Jongin reached to the side and found the blazer on his chair. He quickly messed with it before finding a small bottle of some kind of lotion. “Is this safe?”

 

“It's organic,” Lu Han said. He seemed to be regaining himself a bit. Jongin hadn't drank for as long as he usually would have, but he would by the time they'd both cum. “I use it for my hands. Office workers don't have callouses from weapon fighting.”

 

Jongin nodded and popped the lotion opened. He spread some on his fingers then began his preparation of Lu Han after quickly undoing Lu Han's pants and letting them drop along with his boxers.

 

“Jongin, you're...mnh...how do you remember...it's only been once?” Lu Han complained though he was moaning and moving his hips along with Jongin's fingers.

 

The complaint only made Jongin feel proud and like a good lover. “Why wouldn't I? I want to make you feel good every time.”

 

“Put it in, Jongin,” Lu Han said lifting himself a bit. “I don't have time for you to make more of a mess than you have.”

 

Jongin obeyed. He removed his fingers and teased his member's tip against Lu Han's hole. Lu Han spread his legs feeling it.

 

“Lu Han, spread more,” Jongin teased.

 

Lu Han grumbled something, but reached behind him with one hand and grabbed his one butt cheek exposing more.

 

Jongin chuckled and pushed in, a deep groan escaping him. He bent himself all the way over Lu Han and waited a few seconds before starting with shallow thrusts, testing the waters of his position inside his lover.

 

“Jongin...too slow,” Lu Han complained. “And you're heavy.”

 

Jongin stayed slow, but started to push his hips more against Lu Han's, going in deeper and nestled his face by Lu Han's ear. “Lu Han~.”

 

“Oh my ever loving sakes, what?” Lu Han moaned and turned his head where Jongin's was.

 

Jongin grinned and pecked Lu Han's lips before moving away to whisper in Lu Han's ear again, “One of these days, let's make time so I can make a real mess of you.”

 

He could feel Lu Han's heat as the only response Lu Han gave to that statement before turning away and hiding himself. Jongin leaned up and grabbed Lu Han's hips starting to thrust into him faster. He watched for a moment, entranced by the way it looked, his hardened dick entering Lu Han's slick covered hole between two cutely shaped cheeks. His blood flowed faster, his skin got hotter. Jongin could feel himself getting close as Lu Han began to tighten around him each time he hit against his prostate.

 

“It looks really erotic back here, Lu Han,” Jongin groaned. “You looked really erotic last time, too. And under the desk. You...you feel so good. Really, really, good. The best.”

 

“Shut...shut the fuc-ugh...up Kim Jonginmnh...Jongin!” Lu Han suddenly covered his mouth.

 

Jongin winced feeling Lu Han tighten around him then loosen up more than before as he laid limply across the table. With a grin, Jongin leaned forward and started pounding into the hunter.

 

“You came,” Jongin breath teasingly into Lu Han's ear. He could feel the small shivers of the leftover pleasure Lu Han was feeling from him ramming against his sensitive insides.

 

“Stop~,” Lu Han whined.

 

“No,” Jongin said and bit Lu Han's shoulder. The moment the pleasure of Lu Han's blood hit his tongue, Jongin buried himself deep and came.

 

**$**

 

Jongin walked Lu Han back to his area of the bank after they'd gotten cleaned up and he'd made sure Lu Han had gotten himself a drink. Lu Han wasn't a normal human, so Jongin understood he didn't have to be so aware of how much he fed, but he still worried. The hunter was his boyfriend after all and Jongin had yet to completely immerse himself in the lifestyle of a vampire. He hadn't even been one for three months. There was so much to this new world more than just drinking blood and watching how long he stayed out in the sun. Playback of the night out with Taemin was on rewind in Jongin's mind as he made his way down a hall back to his office. From what Jongin could understand, in order to kill a ghoul, you had to restrain them and poison them. Jongin wasn't sure if it was any poison or just venom. Their stomachs could take it, but not their blood stream, it would seem.

 

“Kim Jongin.”

 

Jongin looked up hearing his name and saw one of the older staff members waving him down at the end of the hall. “Mr. Bang?”

 

The man hurried over, huffing when he stopped in front of Jongin not able to even go that short length easily with the amount of body he was carrying. He was all grins though. Jongin couldn't remember a staff member that had smiled at him other than the recent secretaries who had inclinations to handsome young men (Jongin had noted a few males among them).

 

“Oh, good, I'm glad I could catch you so early this week. You're not off soon are you? To that deli job?”

 

Jongin frowned. He was actually two hours late to Krystal's Wiches. He'd called once, but Krystal hadn't picked up. Jongin figured if she was going to even come in today, she'd call him to ask where he was. The original plan had been to go back to work while a lawyer got Hyuna's case in order, but since the attack with Taemin happened over the weekend, Jongin hadn't wanted to put anyone else in danger. Krystal was a lone young woman. A prime target.

 

“No, I'm still taking some time off from there. I don't want to worry my boss if anything else comes up,” Jongin said.

 

“Ah, yes, with Jo Insung's condition as it is, you might not want her relying on you. The bank comes first after all,” Mr. Bang said.

 

No, Jongin's family and loved ones came first, but Jongin nodded either way. “I want this bank to be like a second home to me so I wish to make it a priority. My brother-in-law is only in the hospital not just because of both his broken legs and sprained arm, but his mental state is not good. He does seem to be coming to reality though.”

 

“He has no clue who the attacker was?” Mr. Bang asked.

 

“No. My sister only said that he seems to have given up being able to identify them.”

 

Mr. Bang nodded and reached out to grab Jongin's shoulder in a grip of support. “You're taking all that very well, even managed to convince a few rich men to put their life's savings into our hands.”

 

“Yes, but unfortunately, the hotel chose another bank.”

 

“Well, see, that's what I came to talk to you about. There was a complication with the area they planned to build the hotel on so they decided to bypass that decision and use that bundle for another hotel right smack in our district over in Busan.”

 

“Don't we share a bit of Busan with Kim Ho Bank?” Jongin asked. “It's close to the border.

 

“That's true, but they've chosen us. Besides, they mentioned you said something about a deal with Kim Junmyeon.”

 

“Oh, yes, I was hoping to have us be more like brother banks than rivals.”

 

Mr. Bang laughed. “Your father has been fighting them off for years. Even your grandfather had a rough time with them, and you want to be friends? Good, good. I like the way you think. That's why I came to talk to you.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Your father's still treating you like his golden boy, right? He's not taking any of this seriously. You were suppose to be just a scare tactic to get Jo Insung's family off our backs, but that backfired. You've gotten serious about this heir business. What changed? We all thought you didn't want to be here. I mean, your background is not so great, boy. But now you're tricking big guns.”

 

Jongin frowned. A lot of stuff changed. “I...got that job at the deli.”

 

Mr. Ban hummed. “Oh, so a girl changed you then? I'd be careful of that though, but it's always a girl, right?”

 

“No, my boss isn't my type, but we get along. I guess you could say I was inspired.” Krystal did whatever she wanted and got it however she could. Jongin hadn't had anything he wanted even if it was a fickle thought, other than Lu Han. But, even pursuing him, he hadn't the motivation until he'd been bitten.

 

“Well, that's for the best. You've got other possible girls. But I've got something to inspire you even more,” Mr. Bang said and handed Jongin a file. “Fill those out and come work for me. You know, if you hadn't taken over as heir and your brother-in-law had still got into this mess, the bank would be mine after your father. When that mess with the Jo family started he almost sold the bank to me. If you want to take pointers from someone and know the true insides and outs of this bank, become my intern. It's a three year training regime, however.”

 

Jongin immediately opened the file and looked through it. He pulled out a pin and started crossing out lines and rewriting points before handing it back to Mr. Bang. “I would appreciate a better paying job and within the business I will own. However, please change these parts of the contract before I sign. I will not have anyone taking my father's office before I do.”

 

Mr. Bang frowned, a more familiar face to Jongin, as he looked over the edits. “You have some real ambition here, Kim Jongin. I understand now why you had such a hard time finding a job. You weren't born to follow someone else.” He snapped the file closed and turned. “I still want to train you. I'll do as you ask, but I'm going to lower your pay.”

 

“If it's agreeable,” Jongin said and bowed as Mr. Bang left and stayed that way until he was gone too afraid the man would see Jongin's fangs as he grinned to himself.

 

The staff was coming to his side and this was only the start.

 

**$**

 

It felt good to Jongin to have a real income coming in. Not that working at the deli hadn't been a real job, but Krystal always paid him up front more than what was stated in the contract he'd signed when working there. Jongin had called Krystal again to try and give her a two weeks notice. It would be hard to work at the deli and take on his new job as Mr. Bang's intern and just being the heir while still working at a deli that didn't even make enough to pay its rent better yet two employees. She wasn't answering, though. Jongin had gotten a text simply stating she was going to do major renovations and that she'd be giving him an unpaid vacation. It didn't feel right to quit in a text. He'd just have to do it when the renovations were done. He wondered if Lu Han would be willing to take his place now that he wasn't working for the company. Krystal was pretty lenient and Jongin just didn't want to leave her without a handsome guy to man the register.

 

Jongin let his feet take him where they would. Mr. Bang had only brought the revised papers to him a day ago which left him only Friday to be trained that week. He'd stayed late wanting to get as much in as he could though most of it, he found, he already knew. By the time he'd left the bank, Lu Han had already performed. He felt bad about missing his boyfriend's weekly performance the first night after quitting, but he knew Lu Han would understand especially when he saw Jongin's bank account. Mr. Bang was giving him pay in advance each week which might be cheating Jongin out of money if he performed overtime, but he was hoping to get his dad to pay for that. He had good money for an apartment now, but he'd have to buy furniture and all the fixings if he didn't want Lu Han to complain about him living like a bum.

 

It was only when Jongin started to remember the times he'd actually lived in such conditions that he realized where his feet had taken him. He was closer to the old pop goods shop his step-father had owned. The man wasn't there anymore. Jongin knew his real father had moved the man and his shop to Jeju Island not long after the divorce. And in the wake of the shop was just an empty lot of crumbled wood that the city hadn't rebuilt. The last time Jongin had run away from home in hopes of living with his step-father, they had put a fence up. He'd been in college then and he'd known there wasn't a point to it. He'd climbed that fence and slept in that pile not caring about catching tetanus. He knew nothing would have changed now, but Jongin still went that way.

 

A tattoo parlor.

 

Already one of the windows was broken even though the lights inside were still on. Jongin thought it was fitting. This area of town hadn't been a bad area, but it was close to where gangs did run. That was how Jongin had gotten into trouble. He turned away from the newly built building intent on going home. Or perhaps he'd call Lu Han up and ask if he could stay the night there. It wasn't like anyone was waiting for him at home. The housekeeper hadn't talked to him since catching a glance of Lu Han in his bed and the only time he ever heard his mother's voice was as it rolled up the stairs from her get-to-gathers with her friends bragging about her boyfriend's condominium.

 

Or he could go train with Junmyeon.

 

“Whoo whee, who do we got here?”

 

Jongin turned immediately recognizing the voice. The face that matched it wasn't as recognizable as he hadn't seen it since just before his senior year of high school. It was a man dressed in a large baggy jacket and a large baggy shirt and chains dangling from around his neck. The look was uncompleted by his ripped up skinny jeans and Vans. His face had grown hair, but not enough to actually make a beard, just a mustache and a patch on his chin, all black while his fake matting dreadlocks were gold, parts already shaved not good with the upkeep. He was grinning at Jongin, hands deep in his pockets.

 

“Woo Jiho?” Jongin asked standing straighter.

 

“Oh, so the little heir does remember me. Ah, but it looks like no matter how much daddy dearest restrains you, you've still got some of that old rebelliousness in ya, right?” Woo Jiho tapped his own hair. “Or did you just start graying early.”

 

Jongin shrugged. “It's natural so I suppose you could say that. Though, I preferred your look from high school much better. You're not really pulling off the American gangster well. The school uniform and bandages were much cooler.”

 

Jiho made a face then wheezed and spit onto the ground. “You've learned how to talk now, Kim Jongin. Got yourself in the good life now, huh? You were always the richest of us, but you were such a poor little soul, that was the only reason I let you join our little gang. That and your mother was hot.”

 

Jongin had to bite his tongue to keep from hissing at his old friend though friend was a long stretch. He had been one of the two eldest in the group Jongin ran with in high school causing havoc around town. And this one in particular had introduced Jongin to woman while also waking up his sexual preference. Back then he'd been clean shaven and better dressed, just an older school boy with that same dangerous shit eating grin. Jongin couldn't find the appeal now, but when he was just a teenager surrounded by these kinds of guys with nothing really going the way he wanted, it wouldn't have taken much to get him riled up.

 

“My mother's in her forties now,” Jongin said. “And you, you're like thirty? And you're still playing gang leader?”

 

Jiho chuckled. “Playing? I run it for real, Jongin. You know, Jongin, you never did leave our group properly. We might not have been a real gang, but we played by their rules, and do you know what you have to do to leave?”

 

Jongin felt apprehension in his fangs. He knew exactly what Jiho was planning. He wasn't oblivious to the other ten men standing off in the shadows listening in. He recognized a few as he peered around. It wasn't fear. Jongin would get out of this alive, but he didn't know how to go about it. Running was an option, but he couldn't let them realize how fast he was and what if they had guns? Maybe he should just take the beating. He could. If he didn't want to be found out as a vampire, the beating might be the best. With a decided sigh, Jongin spoke up.

 

“Just go ahead and jump me, Jiho. I know your guys are out there waiting. Let's get it over with.”

 

Jiho frowned. Maybe Jongin was being too cocky, but he wanted them to hurry up. If Jiho talked more, Jongin would probably get pissed off enough and attack him first. Maybe that's what he wanted.

 

“Do you want me to hit you first? I'm sorry I can't do that. Should I just leave then?”

 

“You're not going anywhere,” Jiho growled. “I've had enough of your stupid pretty boy face on the news. Your brother-in-law got attacked, but you're just pushing the media to focus on the fact he was cheating on that pretty whore of a sister you got.”

 

Jongin bit his tongue again. He could taste his own blood in his mouth and had to take a deep breath to steady himself. “And? As if you haven't done worse.”

 

“What is that suppose to mean?”

 

“I don't hate women. I hate the women guys like you perceive women to be. But, I hate guys like you the most,” Jongin muttered.

 

“What? What, you don't like hoes? We love 'em. You use to, too. They loved riding you. They said you were so sweet, so gentle, almost afraid to touch them without their permission. A real casanova.”

 

Jongin looked away. He had been afraid to touch them. He didn't really want to touch them. “You're a rapist.”

 

“I've never touched a woman that didn't want to be touched,” Jiho countered and snapped his fingers. The guys hiding in the shadows started to walk forward. One of them had a bat, but Jongin could smell gunpowder on at least two. The others probably had knives.

 

“Just do it already, Jiho,” Jongin said closing his eyes and holding his arms out.

 

“You heard the punk, get cracking. I don't want him to be able to leave this alley until the morning.”

 

It was difficult not to dodge the first swing. The bat connected with Jongin's stomach hard. It hurt, but it wasn't enough to unroot him from his spot. They swung again and Jongin made a face, but he could feel himself healing the damage.

 

“What's with this guy? Does he have abs of steel?” one of the lackeys said.

 

“He's just playing tough, hit him again,” Jiho called.

 

It was then that Jongin realized he should probably start faking it if he didn't want to be caught. On the next swing, he crumpled. Someone brought a fist down on his head. He saw stars, but blinked them away and then lied to his side. It took a moment before they started kicking him. He didn't say anything, only kept biting his tongue to keep from hissing and kept his eyes closed so they wouldn't see his eyes flashing into their vampire mode from the quick spurts of pain that were healed in the next few seconds, but his blood leaked out from his mouth.

 

“Hey, there's blood,” one of the guys pointed out.

 

“Of course there is. One of you probably kicked his face. He's not blacked out yet, keep going,” another instructed.

 

They grabbed his hair and punched him. Jongin almost bit one of their hands when his nose was clogged with blood, but he held his breath instead and blew out the excess blood onto his blazer sleeve when it had healed. They took a step back to examine their work. Jongin couldn't help his first instinct to wipe himself clean.

 

“Hey, boss, this guy's weird. He's bleeding all over, but...”

 

Right, Jongin's face should probably be puffy and his eyes closed with how they'd punch him and he probably shouldn’t be able to move one of his arms. He caught Jiho looking at him when Jongin dared to open his eyes. He seemed angry.

 

“Break one of his legs.”

 

Jongin thought about running, but he'd had his whole arm cut off by an ax just in training. A broken leg took even less time to heal and it wouldn't be easy to break. They could withstand the force of jumping from a skyscraper to the street below. He turned onto his back and just laid there waiting for one of the guys to come forward. They did and raised a foot bringing it down hard on his knee. There was a crack, but it was minor and repaired instantly. Jongin tried to fake it, he tried to turn his own knee in an awkward position but his dancing had made him too flexible. He’d have to break his leg himself.

 

“Boss, I don't think we should be messing with this guy. He's got bones like bricks.”

 

“What is with your weak asses tonight. I know I should have gotten Taeil's group instead,” Jiho yelled. “I'll deal with him. Big businessmen like this always thinking they're better than us.” Jongin heard the flick of something metal. A knife? “I've got a ten year old I've gotta pay child support on because apparently pregnancy pills aren't something you can buy in a convenience store. And she had a latex allergy. Latex-free is fucking expensive. But big richies like you wouldn’t know!”

 

Jongin coughed up blood as the metal buried inside in his stomach. It wasn't as bad as being impaled by Kyungsoo's energetic button control, but then it came again and again.

 

“Hey, stop, you're going to kill him.”

 

“Fucking bastard! We went to jail because you tried to help that girl. I gave them your name, too, but your father covered the whole thing up! He gave that girl money to say you didn't exist. I got put in adult jail. Do you know what they do to you in prison especially if you're a condemned rapist?”

 

His father. Jongin felt anger. Even before they'd officially met, that man had been pulling the strings in his life. But, Jongin already knew that.

 

The next stab came as a surprise. The cold metal of the knife went straight through Jongin's chest. He could feel it as it pierced his heart and his body froze in shock.

 

“You...you killed him!” one of the other guys said.

 

“I...I...shit, the leader's gonna have my head. I can't...I can't go back to jail...fuck...” Jiho pulled the knife out as he stumbled away from Jongin's motionless body. It took longer for Jongin to heal. Everything was white and then air. He gasped and sat up quickly, coughing.

 

“Fuck! Didn't he just die? Are you sure that's the banker's son?” one of the lackeys cried.

 

“Screw this shit, we're out.”

 

A few of the guys started to run.

 

Jongin held a hand to his chest. He understood what Junmyeon had said about the stakes not really being a death. They sucked though. He looked around. Maybe he should have played dead, but it was a shock. He curled in on himself. This was really hard to heal. His veins were having a hard time getting the flow going again. Everything hurt. He tried to stand. Maybe he could just run away and they would think Jiho actually missed his heart.

 

“Put the gun away! We weren't suppose to kill him. Fuck, Jiho, this was a side thing. This isn't what we're suppose to be doing tonight.”

 

“I gotta...I gotta put him out of his misery. I can't let him contact police...I can't...”

 

Gunshots. It was Jongin's first experience feeling bullets in his skin. They actually hurt a lot more than the stabbing, more like the stuff he endured during training. And they all got stuck in his skin. He'd have to get those reopened. Jongin faked collapsing. The scraping of the rough ground on his face hurt a lot more than any of those punches did. He laid there listening to Jiho and his gang finally running away. No one from the parlor came out or any of the other shops. They were all empty and closed anyways, lights on or not.

Jongin let a good thirty minutes go by before standing. He felt disgusting and it hurt trying to heal around the bullets. He pulled out his phone only to see it all cracked though the soccer ball phone charm he’d gotten with Lu Han was still in good shape. Well, he'd just have to surprise Lu Han instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated.


	18. Ubi Amor, Ibi Dolor

**18. _Ubi Amor, Ibi Dolor_**

 

    Jongin barely managed to catch himself on the glass of Lu Han's balcony door with one hand, the other holding his waist, without shattering it with his weight. The loud thump he made roused the sleeping loaf of gray fur on the back of Lu Han's curved couch. The cat hissed at Jongin at first then cautiously made it's way over to the glass, pawing at it and started to yowl.

 

“Hey there, Lu Cat. That's right, go wake up your owner for me. Good cat.”

 

It didn’t take much more yowling from the cat before Lu han appeared.

 

“This little shit, what are you making a ruckus for?” Lu Han yelled as he groggily walked out the door closest to the glass doors of his balcony. He scooped up the cat before noticing Jongin outside. “Holy shit! Jongin, are you alright?” Immediately, Lu Han dropped the cat and flung the sliding door opened. Jongin fell inside with a thump and felt paws on his face before he felt the cat loaf itself on his chest.

 

“Cat, get off of him,” Lu Han said as he knelt down beside his boyfriend. The cat refused to move until Jongin sat up and it tumbled into his lap.

 

“It's fine. I'm glad he still remembers me.”Jongin pulled the gray cat into his lap and pet it. The last time he'd seen this cat, he was still mostly a kitten. The cat growled at first at the petting, but settled in with a purr and started licking Jongin's other hand. He pulled it away. “Uh, I'm covered in blood. I don't think your cat should be licking me.”

 

Lu Han sighed and stood closing the glass door. He reached down for the cat and fought with it until he had it firmly in his arms. “He's not going to get sick with vampire blood. Humans don't even have a problem eating it, but I'll have to lock him in the bathroom like last time.”

 

Jongin waited on the livingroom floor by the door until Lu Han came out again. He held a hand out to Jongin and Jongin took it, lifting up back onto his feet.

 

“What happened?” Lu Han asked as he dragged Jongin to the kitchen. “You look like a mess. Not another ghoul, right? You would have texted me immediately if it was, or ran. It should be easy for you to outrun if you're by yourself.”

 

“It wasn't a ghoul and I did try and contact you, but...” Jongin pulled out his cellphone.

 

Lu Han took the phone and scrutinized it confused. “Looks like it took a beating.”

 

“Yeah, that's what happened,” Jongin said and rubbed one of the spots where his skin was trying to heal around a bullet.

 

“I don't know where you came from, but you look like shit. You should be healed by now. Strip so I can see,” Lu Han ordered.

 

Jongin did so until he was only in boxers. “It's uncomfortable.”

 

Lu Han looked Jongin over before his eyes widened and he immediately started to clear off his kitchen table. “Get on.”

 

Jongin did, laying very still as Lu Han started to clatter about the kitchen coming back with a few choice utensils. “You owe me new silverware, alright?”

 

“Whatever you want,” Jongin said and rubbed at his chest. The knife wound felt weird.

 

“Fuck. You were shot and stabbed in the heart?”

 

“It's really not a big deal, I just mnghph,” Jongin started to say, but Lu Han stuffed a kitchen towel into his mouth.

 

“Don't scream. I have to get the bullets out. Your skin's trying to grow back where it was, but they're in the way. It's gonna keep doing that.”

 

Jongin wanted to throw up feeling Lu Han start reopening the shot wounds with a knife. He'd just got through being stabbed and feeling the cold metal again made his tremble. And the noises were enough to make him want to go on a liquid diet. The kitchen was silent other than the sounds of Lu Han's mending and the cat scratching at the door in the bathroom of Lu Han's master bedroom. Finally, the squishing sound of bullets being pulled out stopped and Jongin felt his skin closing back up. Lu Han removed the towel from his mouth and kissed him lightly.

 

“You're an absolute mess. You need a shower.”

 

Lu Han helped Jongin stagger into Lu Han's master bedroom and into the shower, the cat escaping as soon as the door was opened. He managed to heal enough to clean himself off without Lu Han's help and Lu Han left to take the cat to another room. When Jongin emerged with only a towel wrapped around his body, he saw Lu Han stretched out on a king bed in the same pajamas he'd seen him wear last time he’d been here.

 

“You got all the blood off?” Lu Han asked as he flipped through channels of a fifty inch flatscreen mounted to the wall across his bed.

 

“Yeah,” Jongin said and let his eyes wonder around the room. Most of it was white, again, like the rest of Lu Han's apartment, but there were accents of red and gold to match the logo of all the Manchester United memorabilia Lu Han had filling almost a full shelf on one side of the room.

 

“Grab a robe from the closet so you're not naked. I trashed your clothes.”

 

Jongin frowned at that, but walked over to a door Jongin assumed was a closet. It was large and Jongin easily fit inside, going in a complete circle to get a look at everything. He ran his fingers along brightly colored traditional outfits, both Chinese and Korean and even a couple from Japan. And there were suits in fashions Jongin only knew from history books. Then, of course, all the latex and leather and black Lu Han wore for his night job. Jongin finally found a robe and slipped it on, warm and fuzzy and white. He walked back out toweling his hair.

 

“Are all those suits in there things you actually wore?”

 

Lu Han looked up from the television with startled eyes. “What? Oh, yeah. I've kept at least one piece of every wardrobe I owned. The rest I keep until they're worth a lot then I sale them. It gives me enough so I don't have to worry about using my Monster Hunter salary or the bit of allowance Narsha and Suho still give me.”

 

“You also have expensive taste,” Jongin said.

 

“That I do, but Zitao's the one who buys the most brand names.”

 

Jongin hummed and stood awkwardly. He had been here once in Lu Han's apartment, but he'd spent most of it worried about Taemin. “Your place is nice.”

 

“Jongin.”

 

Jongin turned hearing his voice just in time to see Lu Han pull his sweater over his head then tap his neck. “You need to feed.”

 

At first, Jongin wanted to say no, but he had lost a lot of blood. His fangs dripped with venom and his eyes immediately shifted. Jongin crawled into bed and over Lu Han. He stared down at the hunter who only closed his eyes and turned his head showing more of his neck. Jongin leaned down, licked it, then bit into his favorite spot. Lu Han's noises were soft as he drank. Precious unfiltered sounds. And he trembled, trying to keep himself together, but Jongin felt a vulnerability in Lu Han that he hadn't every other time he'd fed. Though he wasn't half as naked as he had been bent over Jongin's desk only a few days before, his emotions were. Jongin could taste them. When he pulled away, Lu Han's eyes fluttered open and Jongin could see how wet they were, trying so hard not to cry.

 

“Lu Han,” Jongin said softly and leaned down to kiss Lu Han.

 

The hunter reciprocated the kiss with desperation. When they pulled away, Jongin wiped Lu Han's lips of his own blood and pulled him into his arms.

 

“I'm...I was so worried, Jongin. You were shot and stabbed. If you weren't a vampire, you'd be dead. And in the heart, Jongin, stabbed in the heart! If they'd left the knife in you you'd still be out there. I would have had to come looking for you.” Lu Han was hiding his face in Jongin's chest. Jongin let him stay there as he continued to lecture him. “What in the world made you think getting hurt like that was okay?”

 

“I...I wasn't sure what to do,” Jongin said. No, that was wrong. He had made excuses on why he should have stayed there. He felt...he felt like he deserved the beating. He had made life hard on his old friends running away like that. But, no, it was more seeing Jiho and how he had turned out that made Jongin remember what a shit kid he had been and what a shit person he had become up until he was bitten. He had thought being bitten was the end all to his string of bad luck, just the rotten cherry right on top, but it'd been a good thing. He'd regained himself. There was a large part of him that still felt like he didn't deserve redemption. “I just thought I should take the beating.”

 

Lu Han pulled away enough to wipe at his eyes and look at Jongin sternly. “What beating?”

 

“I was just walking. I didn't want to go home, but I'd already missed your show. I ended up in the area where I use to live. They finally built something on the lot where my step-father's shop use to be. A tattoo parlor. Probably not official or anything, that part of town is starting to turn into a bad area.”

 

“Where you jumped?” Lu Han asked.

 

“Yes.”

 

“You could have fought them off.”

 

“I knew them,” Jongin said. “I knew the leader. He was the leader of our misfit group. He became part of a real gang. I didn't want to run, they might try and track me down later. And they'd probably find it weird if I started climbing up walls. When would I have had time to prefect parkour? So I let them beat me, but...it's really hard to fake hurt. I wasn't sure when I should pass out and blood clogging your nose and throat is really gross. Things got a little too far.”

 

“You're an idiot,” Lu Han finally said and punched Jongin's chest lightly. “You could have just hidden in the shadows.”

 

“I...felt like I deserved it. I didn't leave the group properly. You're suppose to get beaten up before you can leave the group,” Jongin said.

 

“That's pathetic,” Lu Han said.

 

“I know, I'm sorry.” Jongin buried his nose in Lu Han's hair. He felt so stupid now.

 

“What are you going to say if they see you again?”

 

“I'll just say I don't know what they're talking about. No one will believe them that they killed me and I came back alive. The cops will probably just think they were high or something. Also, that would be admitting murder.”

 

“True,” Lu Han said. “But, I was so scared. My chest...it really hurt. This sucks.”

 

“What does?” Jongin asked finding Lu Han's reaction to worrying about him amusing in a way.

 

Lu Han only sighed in response and readjusted his position in Jongin's hold. “Jongin?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You know, Suho once told me about the three times he fell in love, each a very different feeling. The first time, it was with Yifan. They have the same creator. Suho was turned first and Yifan only a few years after that, so they've always lived very closely to each other then they were put in charge of sects together, they led vampire battles back when we didn't have a national respect for each other. And after years of being so close, they became lovers and then Suho just fell in love. He went from admiring his partner to loving him and it was the same for falling out of love. A very smooth transition.”

 

“Don't they hate each other now, though?”

 

“No, that's not why they have a hard time talking to each other. They had unofficially stopped being lovers years before Yifan decided to become a hunter and give up the taste for blood. But, Suho felt like that was a stab in the back to all the years they'd worked together on making vampires peaceful and humane. They had such strong beliefs that vampires weren't monsters and they had both chosen to be bitten.”

 

Jongin frowned. “Why would they choose this life?”

 

“I chose it, Jongin.”

 

“What other choice did you have?”

 

“None, but for them, it was a long long time ago, Jongin. They were both military in their respective countries that were injured. Becoming a vampire would heal their wounds and allow them to continue fighting. I guess you could say Yifan lost the lust of battle and the will to fight. We might still take out malicious monsters, but that's more pest control. Suho hasn't lost that lust. And the best kind of battle nowadays is business.”

 

“Ah, so he made the bank,” Jongin said. “I understand that.”

 

Lu Han smiled and laid his head on Jongin's chest. Jongin watched him listening to his heart beat, fingers moving under Jongin's robe to feel the spots, now healed, where the bullet holes had been. “The second time Suho fell in love was unrequited, but pure.”

 

“Really? That sounds like a sad story.”

 

“It's not. He fell in love with me,” Lu Han said.

 

Jongin absolutely felt jealous hearing that. “I don't think I want to hear this one.”

 

“Yes you do. It involves how I came to Korea,” Lu Han said. “You see, human morals don't leave you and it's hard to ignore them when you're still freshly a vampire. I worked my keep at Narsha's prostitution house while still in China cleaning up the place. She wanted to use me as a male prostitute, but I couldn't stand the idea of touching someone after what happened. However, after only a couple years, I became antsy. Tension with Japan was rising and rogue vampires rolled into the city we were staying. They were young and wild and had both their human morals while also reveling in the powers being a vampire gave. There was a young girl in the city Narsha had moved us to who was said to be the most beautiful. I had no real interest in her, but I wanted to break away from everything that was holding me down -- Narsha, the government, my own bad memories. She wanted me because I was even more beautiful than her as she said. I convinced her to sleep with me. It was all very dramatic, like a tragic poem. And it was tragic. I told her I was a vampire. I told her I was going to change her and we'd be vampire lovers for the rest of eternity. But, I had never fed on my own before. Narsha had always made the cut and wouldn’t let me feed from the direct wound. Back then we didn't have gum that clogged our venom canals, so even that way, it was risky to feed. I didn't have someone to instruct me. We had sex. Multiple times that night. I had a hard time, but she was already high off the thought of it. When it did come that I couldn't take it, I bit her. I drained her. She died smiling thinking she'd come back as my eternal bride. She didn't, but the rogue vampires didn't mind it. I was horrified, but I didn't want to tell Narsha, she'd force us all to move again. They helped me hide her and frame another boy. And then the war with Japan happened. I immediately rushed off to join it against Narsha's wishes. By that time, vampires had made it a strict clause not to interfere in human affairs unless they threatened the mass world. More than as a vampire, pretending I was human was how I killed more humans. We were stationed on the border of Korea and China. At night we would go and feed off wondering enemy soldiers, even just humans who happened to be on their side. A few times, we even fed off our own comrades. And women. There were so many women that were easily swayed into bedding us, and a few men. But then there were those that weren't swayed.”

 

Jongin wrapped an arm tight around Lu Han.

 

“I've never raped someone, Jongin. It was when the other vampires did, but not only the vampires, my human comrades, that was when I wanted to be done with this. My moral started to shift. I got into a fight with one of the vampires and we were chased out by a few soldiers that saw our vampire forms. And then we ran into a Monster Hunter. I was so terrified. She killed all the rogue vampires. If I hadn't said who my creator was, she would have killed me, too. I cried like an absolute child. I was so done with it. I never wanted to see anything like that war again. She brought me to Suho. I joined his sect just as Yifan had completely mastered controlling his thirst for blood and was given an official spot as a Monster Hunter. The first time I met Suho, he couldn't stop staring at me. He was very gentle in his teachings with me and treated me kindly. I had always assumed it was because the Monster Hunter that spared me, Boa, had taken me as a lover. It was more as my way of paying her back for being saved. But, I believe that was more of the reason why he never made a move on me. Everyone held so much respect for Boa. She was an old vampire and and an old Monster Hunter. Eventually, she stopped coming to me, but even then, Suho never tried to make a pass at me. He was always there to help me, to teach me. I learned so much from him. And when I wanted to become a Monster Hunter, he respected my decision. He supported me. Because he loved me, at first with attraction, and then just love. I think he still does love me to today, but it's not the same, not even the same as it was back then.”

 

“And then? What about the third time?” Jongin asked. His eyes had closed. He felt calm listening to Lu Han talk.

 

“I was already a Monster Hunter by then,” Lu Han said.

 

“So? Start from there if you have to. How did you become a Monster Hunter, Lu Han.”

 

“The Korean War happened. I had lived in isolation from most humans during the first World War and the second i saw little of it, but I was living in Korea when the Korean War started. I knew I couldn't help these people and this culture I had learned to love as it was torn in two, but I wanted to do something to help. I'd had so much love thrown at me from vampires and so much understanding. I had a huge revelation because of Xiumin’s friendship. I had met up with Narsha again and apologized so many times. I thought I had gotten over all my nightmares of being human and I didn't want to risk killing another innocent human the way I had that girl. I just wanted to start over and be me. It would be easy to go back to being a vampire, but I wanted this chance. For however long it lasted, I wanted to feel somewhat human again, be the real human Lu Han. I spent more time with Yifan learning from him. He did become attracted to me, but it wasn't love, and I got more offers from vampires as a Monster Hunter, probably because they could feed on me. I declined being fed on. You aren't the first vampire I've fed, but it was usually during raids getting rid of pests when they needed it, never sexually.”

 

Jongin shifted. “That wasn't really a first I had thought about so it doesn't matter to me. I guess that's another good use for Monster Hunters. You're just as strong as vampires, almost, but you can also work alongside them and they don't have to bring humans with them for meals or bottle up blood.”

 

“Strategically, yes, you're correct. But we're not just meals,” Lu Han said.

 

“No, no you're not.” Jongin laid there silent for a moment. “If I wanted a second chance at becoming a human, could I?”

 

“I wouldn't attempt it, Jongin. You lived as a human, but you weren't really.”

 

“Right,” Jongin said with a deep sigh. “Can't really have a second chance at that life when I never had it.”

 

“Jongin,” Lu Han started.

 

“I'm alright, continue please.”

 

Lu Han didn't begin again right away. He let his fingers roam more on Jongin's skin before letting his words flow once more. “So, that was when I became a Monster Hunter. Honestly, it wasn't that long ago. Zitao's only been one for thirty years. There are humans that were born before then still alive.”

 

“There are people still alive from the Korean War, Lu Han, even a couple from the World Wars.”

 

“Exactly,” Lu Han said. “But, I had gone to Europe for a while for training. I only got back about fifteen years ago. Not long before meeting you, Jongin. I started to catch up with my vampire friends again. About the same time I met you, Suho ran into a boy. I don't really know much about Kyungsoo other than he's unsocial and Suho adores him and the vampires can't keep from messing with him. Kyungsoo isn't an orphan. He has a whole family. But, he wasn't happy. He had dreams but no ambition to achieve them. Nothing he wanted was coming true and he hated everyone. There's a recurring theme among us vampires. Those who are assassinated by Monster Hunters and Vampires usually became a vampire by choice with the intent to use their new powers for evil or were changed on accident and were already corrupt to begin with. There are also suicidal vampires, ones who find their vampire life not as fulfilling and happy as their human ones. We don't make vampires as often because of that. But, those of us that live for decades and centuries that weren't born this way, we lost something. As humans, we've lost something. That was what truly drew Suho to Kyungsoo, well that and he thought the boy beautiful. They shared that feeling of lost. So, Suho watched Kyungsoo, tried to guide him, and Kyungsoo fell in love with this older man who seemed like an angel, who held the key to his light (these are Suho's quotes, but I'm sure they're truer than what Kyungsoo would ever say). He didn't shy away when Suho revealed what he was and so Kyungsoo became a feeder and when Kyungsoo was of age, they became lovers. I've watched Suho fall in love with Kyungsoo. He talked about him every time I visited. Interest with a bit of attraction then love and agony and then love and happiness which isn't always happy. Suho told me all of this when he fell in love with Kyungsoo because he knew Kyungsoo was it. He has said 'I love you' to many people, but only those three people has he truly loved, but Kyungsoo is it. Whether they decide to open their relationship every few decades is up to them, but I saw it in his eyes. And, I understand what he meant when he said Kyungsoo was it, because you're it, too, Jongin.”

 

Jongin felt the warmth of Lu Han's hot cheek seeping through the fabric of the robe and into his chest. “What are you saying, Lu Han?”

 

“That I worry about you too much. I've always worried about you. You were this pathetic pretty kid that watched me with eyes that made me want to cry. You wanted to dance, I knew you did, but I could also tell there was something that wasn't allowing you to. And then I found out who you were and I wanted you to make the most of it. Even being a vampire, I want you to make the most of it.”

 

“And what does that mean, Lu Han?” Jongin asked.

 

“It means I love you, Kim Jongin.”

 

Jongin immediately laughed.

 

Lu Han sat up a bit and glared down at Jongin. “Don't you dare laugh at me. I am over a hundred years old. I can decide if I'm in love with someone after only a month.”

 

“Try ten years, Lu Han,” Jongin said and reached a hand up to caress Lu Han's cheek to calm him down.

 

“Fine, ten years. I couldn't love you back then because you're were just a kid.”

 

“But, I've loved you for that long,” Jongin said.

 

“What?” Lu Han asked, eyes wide.

 

“I was a stupid kid so of course I fell in love stupidly early. Why would I keep a crush on someone that long if I wasn't in love with them? It's not like I've known this for that long. I've just realized it, too. I love you, Lu Han.”

 

Lu Han smiled. It was the brightest truest smile he'd ever seen.

 

Lu Han flopped back down into Jongin's hold and held him tight. “Move in with me, Jongin. Don't find another apartment, just live here. I have two extra bedrooms. Make one yours and just tell everyone you don't like to be lonely. We can switch apartments later and I'll pretend to be a girl if that's what we have to do and we can get married just like you said. I don't really care. I don't need any of that stuff. I just...I just want to be with you, Jongin.”

 

Jongin held Lu Han close, but moved a hand and urged Lu Han to lift his face. “I want to be with you, too, Lu Han. I don't mind living with you. I hate apartment shopping anyways.”

 

Lu Han grinned, shook his head, and leaned up to kiss Jongin.

 

Jongin kissed back, rolled them over, and made up for the last time he'd stayed the night in Lu Han's apartment.

 

**$**

 

Jongin tapped his foot as he supervised the workings of the main floor of Kim Eun bank where everyday people came and went, the busiest area where staff actually interacted with customers on a minute to minute basis. Mr. Bang had sent Jongin in his stead for his turn as supervisor to the first floor that week and it was almost closing time for the tellers. There were more people at this hour, rushing in from work last minute. Being one of the banks that actually stayed open until late afternoon made it easier to get customers and made them more desirable for those who didn't want to do all their banking electronically. That usually meant the older upper middle class folks. Jongin waited until they had put the closed sign up and the tellers had counted all their money before heading back up. The senior teller could handle sending everyone home. There was only one email Jongin needed to type up and send and then he had to check in with Mr. Bang before he would be allowed to leave. Usually, he would stay longer and study, but he did want to hurry home and start packing so he could move into Lu Han's place quickly. He knew he would have to tell his mother about moving out, but he wasn't sure how. He figured, if she came home, she would see the boxes and ask him about it, or he would just notify her before he moved the last of his boxes out of the house.

 

Jongin's office had began to gain a bit of character. He'd taken a rug from his bedroom and brought it in along with a few of the other decorations that he had no desire to take with him to Lu Han's and a few of the frames. He had also borrowed a few random tables laying around the bank and organizers. Jongin tapped away at his old computer, continuously looking over at examples of proper business emailing formats to make sure he was doing it right that he had collected in one file. They weren't the examples he'd seen in school, but some Lu Han had printed out. Apparently, being too formal was odd when you held a high position, but Jongin still kept his speech polite. There was a knock on the door and Jongin looked up.

 

“Jongin?” asked Mr. Bang as he poked his head in. “Oh, good you're already up here. You're good to go, just leave me those numbers on my desk that I asked for earlier. My wife is forcing me to go home on time today. The in-laws are over.”

 

“Alright,” Jongin said. “I'll do that as soon as I'm done here. I think a meal with your family sounds nice.”

 

Mr. Bang just rolled his eyes. “Wait until you're married. Hopefully, you get better in-laws than that Jo family.”

 

Jongin nodded and smiled. He wouldn't have any in-laws. Lu Han had outlived any of them though he hadn't asked if Lu Han knew about any descendants his family might have had. Maybe cousins. They'd all be in China, Jongin presumed. Well, he supposed he could count the Monster Hunters as In-Laws, but that also made Junmyeon's sect In-Laws and Jongin's own birth mother. Jongin shook his head and quickly finished off the email, sending it, then made a quick document to type up the numbers Mr. Bang wanted.

 

There was another knock.

 

“Come in,” Jongin called.

 

“Jongin, dear,” Mrs. Kim called.

 

Jongin looked up and smiled naturally at his step-mother. “Hello Mrs. Kim. What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

 

Mrs. Kim laughed softly. “Oh, don't be so formal. Would you meet me in your father's sitting room? It's been so long since we've caught up and you've done so much lately.”

 

“I have no reason to deny you my company, Mrs. Kim. I just have to finish this document. Shall I meet you there in fifteen minutes?”

 

“Yes, that sounds right. I'll leave you to your work. My how you've really grown.”

 

Jongin could only smile more. It felt nice, warm, to have Mrs. Kim's praise. He did admire this woman. She had stuck with his father all these years, but molded her situation to her benefit. And Hyuna and Hyoyeon seemed to have a good relationship with her.

 

It didn't take long for Jongin to finish the document and he had it printed and on Mr. Bang's desk in less than fifteen minutes. He felt odd walking down his father's hall. It was the first time since he'd threatened the man with taking over his company. The secretaries didn't ask him anything. Either Mrs. Kim had already told them to expect him or he had enough respect in the company not to be checked every time he wanted to speak to his father.

 

“Mrs. Kim?” Jongin walked into the sitting room to see Mrs. Kim at the bar.

 

“Oh, do lock the door behind you, my dear. Last week I was interrupted talking with one of the secretaries by some of your father's louder staff members who thought they could chat here in hopes of catching the president. He never uses the sitting room himself.”

 

Jongin laughed and closed the door with a click of the lock then went over to his usual spot on the white leather couch.

 

“Would you like something to drink, dear? I know you don't usually like alcohol, but I want to toast you.”

 

“I'll indulge you this once. Anything but wine, please.”

 

“Oh, no sweet tooth today? You really are growing up,” Mrs. Kim teased and poured them both a glass of some dark colored liquor. She walked over to Jongin and handed him his drink then took a seat next to him. “So, I hear you've been working hard. You always seemed so pathetic, being forced into a position you didn't want.”

 

“I didn't...” Jongin started.

 

“Oh please, we all could tell you had no interest in the bank. You weren't even suppose to actually take over it. Your father was hoping Hyoyeon would get engaged while he was using you as a scapegoat to focus the Jo's attention on. He was lining up potential men he knew he would be able to control as well as girls for you. He still plans to marry you off.”

 

“I'll be picking my own wife,” Jongin stated.

 

Mrs. Kim hummed. “You sound very confident. You know, my husband has seemed a bit on edge lately. I thought it was just because he found out you were friends with the heir to Kim Ho Bank, but maybe you're holding some power over him. Hyuna has told me what you're doing for her. I wouldn't go so far as to say you planned the attack even with your adolescent's reputation, but the affair was really something.”

 

“You give me too much credit,” Jongin said. “I simply took up opportunity where opportunity shone.”

 

“True. Hyoyeon adores you, but she wouldn't have told you about that time Insung tried to seduce her not long after he’d married Hyuna. It seems he has a taste for unsavory amounts of participants when making love.”

 

Jongin frowned. “Hyoyeon doesn't talk with me much.”

 

“Yes, you could say she's the type who likes puppies, but is afraid they'll bite. She's afraid you'll be like her father if she gets too close because she is. She has a tendency to go to violence first. That's why she's not married. Hyuna's like me, but not as smart I'm afraid.” Mrs. Kim took a sip of her drink. “But, we're not here to discuss those things. I'm here to praise you. You're really outsmarting your father. Where did your sudden interest come from?”

 

Jongin tapped the lip of his glass. Honestly, he wasn't sure. He just didn't want to be weak. And he had become stronger physically, why not take advantage of what was dangling right before him and become stronger that way, too? Also, he just didn't want to see his father retire the way he wanted to. Jongin could always be a dancer in another life, he had that option, but this option he had to take now. “I just grew up finally.”

 

“I'll say,” Mrs. Kim said and turned.

 

She reached out a hand and lightly brushed back Jongin's bangs. Jongin didn't mind though he wasn't use to being touched by his step-mother. She had never seemed to hate him. Actually, Jongin thought she enjoyed having a step-son, or at least found him interesting. She had known he existed for years before he knew of her after all. And  it was nice to have an older woman who wasn't his mother to confide in. Like an aunt.

 

“This white hair, it suits you, Jongin,” Mrs. Kim said, her voice softer as she continued brushing his hair. “It makes people pay attention to you. And you don't look ghostly because you have such a pretty skin tone. You've always had it, even when you were a baby.”

 

“Did you see me when I was a baby?” Jongin asked.

 

“You were two when I first saw you. That was when I found out about that woman having a baby. I thought she had lost hers. We were confident it wasn't his. I did get along with your mother during the time she was your father's lover, but I was angry that she was thinking about taking advantage of his money having his kid so I went to give her a piece of my mind, but you look like your father. I don't know where the skin tone comes from. And there are certain aspects of you that don't match either of them.” Mrs. Kim trailed her fingers down the side of Jongin's face and under his chin making him look at her for a moment before letting go. “You were a very pretty child.”

 

Jongin studied Mrs. Kim for a moment. She was definitely beautiful for her age, just beginning to gain the roundness of most elderly woman, but she was keeping up with her wrinkles. He could see both Hyuna and Hyoyeon in her. She didn't seem to know about Jongin's real mother, though.

 

“Did my father have other lovers along with my mother?” he asked.

 

“He has lovers now,” Mrs. Kim said. “But if you're meaning at the same time, he had many one night stands, but, there was a woman I only met a few times and could not get along with. I could never understand why she had become his lover. That woman was strong and had her own mind. She was definitely rich, too, and pampered. I thought maybe she was after the bank, but she was the one that left your father. I think he hit her. I thought she would have been strong enough not to be affected by something like that.”

 

“She was strong, that's why she left,” Jongin muttered to himself.

 

“What was that?” Mrs. Kim asked. Jongin only shook his head and she continued. “Well, speaking of lovers, you certainly must have had a few. I'm curious to see if you're as bad as your father. I know my daughters aren't angels.”

 

Jongin immediately looked away. “I don't think that's an appropriate topic for us.”

 

“Oh please,” Mrs. Kim said and placed a hand on Jongin's knee, squeezing it. “I'm not your mother. Don't be embarrassed. We're both adults. I have lovers and your father knows of them.”

 

Jongin frowned. He wasn't sure how to answer this. “I...had a bad reputation as a teenager. It got better.”

 

“Oh, yes, your little gang in high school. I understand. Did your mother ever get angry with you about them?”

 

“She only knew what the police told her,” Jongin said. As soon as she was able to divorce his step-father, Jongin's mother only talked to him when he got in trouble and the police had to call her. Jongin knew that was part of why he got in trouble so often.

 

“Yes, you wouldn't want to worry her I suppose. But, she seems to be doing well with the man I introduced her to,” Mrs. Kim said and took another sip of her drink. “He has told me he enjoys her company immensely.”

 

“You were the one who introduced them? She's not often home nowadays,” Jongin said.

 

Mrs. Kim laughed. “Really? He may want to marry her then. He did mention wanting a wife and I do feel so bad for that woman. We really should have just raised you ourselves, but back then we didn't know if we would ever have another child.”

 

“I understand that,” Jongin said. He didn't like to think about what it would have been like being raised by his father. Would he have been a different person? He wouldn't even have been able to dream of dreaming about being a dancer.

 

“I wonder what you should do if she does marry that man. Your father won't let her keep the house.”

 

“Oh, I'm moving out,” Jongin said. “I'll be quitting my deli job now that Mr. Bang has taken me under his wing and I'm getting a steady allowance.”

 

“Really? You've gotten an apartment? Didn't you have a studio?”

 

“I did, but I don't need a studio if I have an apartment.”

 

“Won't you be all by yourself?” Mrs. Kim teased.

 

“Actually, I'm moving in with a friend. I don't like the idea of living alone, no.”

 

“Not one of those idols?”

 

Jongin chuckled. “No, they live in dorms. He actually use to work here. I've known him longer than I've known my birth father. The Chinese intern.”

 

Mrs. Kim hummed in thought. “I can't say I know who you're talking about. But, there was a very pretty boy who walked around here that I saw you talking to every now and then. I didn't know you had a friend at our company. Wasn't he almost thirty?”

 

“Yes,” Jongin said. More like almost a hundred and thirty.

 

Mrs. Kim moved her hand up higher on Jongin's leg. “No, no, you shouldn't move in with a man of that age. He'll get a girlfriend and want to marry soon. Why don't you come live at the estate if you don't wish to be lonely. We can set you up far away from your father.”

 

“No, I can always find my own apartment later if I get in the way,” Jongin said.

 

Mrs. Kim squeezed her hand hard on Jongin's leg and Jongin bit his lip. Her hand was warm.

 

“Don't be silly, Jongin,” she said then looked down at Jongin's drink. “Dear, you haven't even taken a sip. Here, let's toast.”

 

Mrs. Kim held up her glass with her other hand. Jongin followed the motion and clinked their glasses together.

 

“To the heir of Kim Eun Bank,” she toasted.

 

Jongin mumbled with her and took a sip of the hard liquor. It tasted a bit sour. Jongin wasn't sure what all she had put in the drink, but he could feel his venom leaking out as if to kill the taste off his tongue. He shivered.

 

“You really are not good with alcohol, are you?”

 

“No,” Jongin said lowering the glass again.

 

Mrs. Kim moved closer. Her voice was softer when she talked. “Dear, there is another place you could move into.”

 

Jongin hummed as he drank down the rush of his venom until his mouth finally felt clean again. He really should chew the gum Junmyeon gave him, but Lu Han felt pleasure from his venom and he was the only one Jongin was going to be biting.

 

“I don't stay at the estate all the time. I have my own private apartment. No one lives there right now. You could if you want. Rent free.”

 

“I couldn't,” Jongin said. “I can afford my own apartment.”

 

“You can,” Mrs. Kim said.

 

She was almost laying on Jongin. He could smell the alcohol on her breath and wondered if she had taken liberty of the alcohol cabinet before he had arrived. He had way more experience with drunk women than Jongin wanted to admit because of the gang. They tended to want to cuddle or be far away from everyone. Mrs. Kim seemed like a cuddler, like his mother was that night she’d admitted to not being his mother, so Jongin moved an arm so she could rest against him. He didn't mind if she fell asleep on him.

 

Mrs. Kim didn't lay on him, but she did move closer, her hand moving farther up his leg uncomfortably close to his crotch. “Jongin, if you want to pay someway, I don't want your money. But, there is something I want from you.”

 

“What is that?” Jongin asked turning his head politely as he lifted his drink to risk another sip.

 

“I want you to take over your father's position and quickly. I don't want him to get what he wants as much as you do, but I can't lose my place either. I can help you gain it quicker, though. I can give you clients and connections I've been holding back from even your father, but in exchange...” Mrs. Kim trailed off and then Jongin felt something wet against his neck and lowered his glass quickly.

 

“Mrs. Kim?” Jongin asked. He turned his head back to look at her only for the wetness to meet his own lips.

 

Mrs. Kim's lips.

 

Jongin immediately pulled away. His heart was beating furiously. He was terrified. He was confused. He could only compare the feeling to how it felt when he smelt a ghoul nearby.

 

Mrs. Kim shifted and moved closer to Jongin again trapping him under her on the couch. “Dear, why are you running away? You enjoy my company, don't you?”

 

“I...but not like that,” Jongin stammered. He couldn't comprehend...no...this wasn't really happening. It couldn't be.

 

“And why not like that? We're not related by blood. Am I too old for you? Don't you want to take everything away from that man, Jongin?”

 

Jongin did, but not this. There was a pang in Jongin's chest like someone stabbing his heart. No, worse. Jongin knew what it felt like to get stabbed in the heart. The pang ran into his stomach and forced everything down until it seemed like there was an empty hole there. Jongin reached an arm up, blocking himself from Mrs. Kim while also trying to push her away lightly.

 

“Oh dear, don't try and fight it. You have to try being with an older woman at least once to know if you like it. All my lovers are younger than me. They quite find me knowledgeable.”

 

Even if Jongin was interested in women, he wouldn't sleep with Mrs. Kim. He didn't see her that way. He thought...he thought maybe she saw him as her son. Why Jongin ever thought that, he wasn't sure. She had always talked with him, something his own mother had stopped doing, but now she was trying to seduce him?

 

Mrs. Kim put her hand on Jongin's crotch and started palming it. Immediately, Jongin gave up trying to be gentle. He pushed her away enough that she landed on the other end of the couch and he strolled quickly to the other side of the room.

 

“You're...quite strong. I'm old, but I can handle a bit of roughness,” Mrs. Kim teased.

 

Jongin looked away trying to regain himself. He wouldn't cry. He couldn't seem pathetic in front of this woman, but he felt like it. His mother wasn't actually his mother, the woman he'd started to see as a mother saw him as a power tool and a fuck toy, and his real mother...Jongin didn't know what to make of Narsha though he trusted Lu Han's good words of her. He clutched at his chest and tried to take in deep breaths. He could feel Mrs. Kim coming closer to him. He could smell her. She wrapped her arms around him, but it wasn't the right kind of warmth. Jongin could smell desire. He'd been too trusting earlier, or maybe she just hadn't worked herself up enough for him to sense it, but he couldn't trust her and that hurt so much.

 

“Don't touch me!” Jongin yelled and pulled out of her arms. He turned and glared at her. “Don't touch me ever again.”

 

Mrs. Kim looked angry. “Are you really so disgusted by me? That hurts a woman's feelings you know. If you really want to be the president so bad, you'll take my offer.”

 

Jongin shook his head. “I can't sleep with you. You're my step-mother.”

 

Mrs. Kim scoffed. “You hate that man as much as I do. Wouldn't it be sweet revenge to take his wife and his company? His daughters are already on your side.”

 

“You're my step-mother!” Jongin repeated louder this time.

 

“We're not related by blood!” Mrs. Kim yelled back.

 

Jongin could only shake his head then he stopped. “Neither is my mother.”

 

“What?”

 

Jongin looked up and stared sternly at Mrs. Kim. “I don't share blood with the woman that raised me and I don't share blood with you. But, I see you both the same.”

 

Mrs. Kim made a face. “Whose son are you? What do you know, Jongin?”

 

“I know that the woman you said you didn't get along with, she's my mother.”

 

Mrs. Kim's face turned into a glare. “Stop spouting nonsense. I would know something like that. You better listen to me, Kim Jongin. I swear I'll break up your mother's happy affair if you don't.”

 

“Do it,” Jongin challenged. He stood straighter. He wasn't going to be threatened by this woman. “Do it.”

 

“She'll be kicked out of that house. She won't have any of our money. Her family has already disowned her.”

 

“She'll be free,” Jongin argued. “She won't be tied down to a man she now regrets trusting but still can't deny. She'll be free of a woman who pities her. And she'll be free of me, the boy she was forced the raise as her own.”

 

Mrs. Kim looked away. “You're not lying?”

 

“No.”

 

“Where is that woman?” Mrs. Kim asked.

 

“I can't tell you.”

 

“What is she planning?”

 

“Nothing. She wants nothing from you or him. She wasn't even expecting me.”

 

“I'll find her and—,”

 

“Mrs. Kim!” Jongin raised his voice then lowered it as he regained himself. “Threats do not become you. You're very ugly right now, Mrs. Kim. If you wish to stay as comfortably as you are now five years from now or less then I suggest you stop talking and either help me or stay on the sidelines like you have been.”

 

“You won't succeed without my help,” Mrs. Kim said. “That's why I offered you this deal.”

 

“I will.” Jongin tried to look put together, but he still felt a turmoil inside him. “I saw you as a mother figure, Mrs. Kim, but right now, all you are are a nuisance. I know you won't do something to hurt your daughters so you'll forget this ever happened and I will do the same.”

 

Mrs. Kim looked around the room before taking in a deep breath and straightening up. She held her head high as she started across the room to the door, but turned half way there. “You have really changed, Kim Jongin.” She turned back towards the door. “I can't help but admire what you're becoming.”

 

Jongin watched her leave. Then walked over to the bar hoping there was something there he could drink and pretend was alcohol. Water would do fine. He needed blood, though. He didn't trust himself walking home delusional. Instead, he found a bottle with some kind of sedative in it. Rage filled him. Jongin threw the bottle across the room. It took a moment for him to collect himself enough to pull his phone out and text Lu Han.

 

**$**

  
  


Lu Han didn't text back right away. When he did, it wasn't what Jongin had expected. He was fifteen minutes from the bank when he got the very short and terse reply of Lu Han telling him not to bother him with stupid questions. It had been an honest question and made Jongin worry. Something must be stressing the hunter out. Jongin figured he could get it out of Lu Han when he got to his apartment later that night with his first round of boxes.

 

Their apartment.

 

The sweet thought settled down some of the anger and confusion Jongin felt. He would have never thought Mrs. Kim would hit on him. She'd known him since he was still wearing diapers. It felt wrong. She may not be as old as Jongin's real mother, but she was a few years older than the mother that raised him. He couldn't understand it. He was younger than her own daughters. His father was worse by far, but Jongin thought the reason Mrs. Kim really stayed as his wife was because they were so similar. Or had he turned her that way?

 

Jongin stopped passing by an electronics store. He pulled out his cellphone which was actually an old phone Lu Han was letting him borrow since his had been smashed when he had ran into Jiho. It wouldn't be a bad idea to buy a new one, he had just been putting it off the past couple days. He walked in and waited by the televisions for the only worker to finish explaining apps to an elderly lady. One of them was on and had a news program beginning. Fire was the first thing Jongin noticed. Firefighters had been sent to the woods outside of Seoul to fight a massive flame. They said it was caused by arson, but when they mentioned a nearby religious sanctuary getting the main brunt of it, Jongin knew there was something more. He dialed Lu Han.

 

“Jongin, are you alright? Did someone try and poison you?”

 

Jongin was surprised by the difference in tone Lu Han had over the phone versus text. “You're worried.”

 

“Of course I am. You texted me something so stupid when I'm dealing with this mess over here.”

 

“What mess? Lu Han, what happened? The vampire hideout, it's been burnt.”

 

Lu Han didn't respond right away. Jongin could hear people yelling in the background. “Jongin, I need you to go to Suho's immediately. Whether you're alright or not, go there. I'll be there in about an hour and you can tell me whatever it is that made you text me earlier, but you can ask Suho about the fire. I have to help round up the stragglers when I should really be hunting down whoever did this.”

 

“My mother,” Jongin started to ask. “Narsha, is she alright?”

 

“She's the first one I'm sending, Jongin. She's basically my mother, too. I wouldn't leave her.”

 

Jongin understood. “I'll go to Suho's. Be careful.”

 

“I love you,” Lu Han replied before hanging up.

 

Jongin didn't bother waiting around for the confused old lady. He hurried over to Suho's condominium only to see that any staff on the bottom floor had been released and Sehun was the only one to greet him standing by the stairwell.

 

“Sehun, what's going on?”

 

Sehun shifted and pushed the stairwell door opened for Jongin. “You should hurry up and help Suho prepare the rooms. We're getting a lot of new tenants tonight.”

 

Jongin didn't bother asking more. He hurried up to Suho's floor and saw the other vampires and Zitao helping to move things around, using the elevators to go up and down floors. Kyungsoo was the closest to him and Jongin reached out to get his attention. “Where's Junmyeon?”

 

Kyungsoo's eyes widened in surprise, but then he went to glaring at Jongin and pulled himself away. “He's in his office making up lists of where everyone's going to sleep. I don't know why ghouls are so interested in you, Kim Jongin, but I'm sure this is all your fault.”

 

Kyungsoo walked away before Jongin could ask him more. The vampire was still as unpleasant as ever, but Jongin chose to ignore him as he hurried down the hall to Suho's rooms and found him scribbling away at a map of the floors he owned in the condominium.

 

“Junmyeon, what's going on?”

 

Junmyeon looked up. He seemed tired for a vampire and there was stress and fear in his eyes. “Take a seat, Jongin.”

 

Jongin pulled up a chair in front of Junmyeon's desk and looked at the maps as Junmyeon pushed them towards him. “What's this?”

 

“New living arrangements for the vampires in hiding in Seoul. I have to move them here temporarily. There's a reason I own so many floors of this building. It's for scenarios like this. Check them over and make sure I haven't put anyone in the same apartments. And anyone with an F by there names are humans. There shouldn't be more than one with a vampire.”

 

“What do you mean by new living arrangements?” Jongin asked starting to look over the map. “What happened to their old one?”

 

“We had to burn it,” Junmyeon said. He started to click around on his computer. “They found a werewolf and a werewolf vampire guardian killed on the patrolling area. Since the time that the first person like Jongdae was created, we've had good dealings with werewolves. Since they don't have to drink human blood if turned into vampires, they can be around humans more, be our eyes in the world when we're in hiding. We tend to hire werewolf families to watch over the area and if they get into trouble while on their duty, we turn them into vampires. They find it an honor. We've had that particular hideout for over a century. It's a shame we had to burn it”

 

“Why did you?” Jongin asked.

 

“We had to evacuate. There are so many signs of vampirism there that we couldn't leave it up unprotected. They definitely packed what was important, but they've burned the rest. That's always been the plan if we were threatened.”

 

“Is it ghouls?” Jongin asked.

 

“Yes.”

 

“A queen?”

 

“That's what we're assuming. A werewolf and werewolf vampire wouldn't have been attacked by a normal ghoul, or at least they would have been able to run away easier. It's not the city where you have to worry about normal people seeing you. Whoever this queen is, she is smart and she is ambitious. We believe she is hunting us, but we need more proof.”

 

“Why in the world would she be hunting us? Lu Han said the ghouls themselves have no interest in us unless we're in their territory,” Jongin said.

 

“It is about territory. She probably wants Seoul. And there are so many vampires that live here she could hunt. Though I don't see how one queen could make something that great. One pregnancy lasts half a year. That's only two children a year unless she has multiple children or a litter. Litters are just blubbering idiots, though. Even if she inherited her mother's horde, she still wouldn't be able to double it. For now, we're just taking precautions, Jongin.”

 

“Lu Han said he would be here in an hour,” Jongin said.

 

“I suppose he's escorting the pure bloods then. Find Yixing. He'll give you the stuff for Narsha's room. You can set that up.”

 

Jongin stood. “I'll help find who killed those guards.”

 

Junmyeon looked up from his typing. “Is that a question? I never doubted you would. They killed your apprentice after all.”

  
Jongin's apprentice. He hadn't even known her. Her face was still blurry in Jongin's mind, but he hadn't forgotten the taste of her blood and he still felt a sense of loss when he thought of her. It was his fault this had happened to her, but, maybe not as much as he thought it was. He'd smelt it back then. He'd been on the ghoul's menu from the very moment he'd turned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated.


	19. Fraus Omnia Vitiat

**19. _Fraus Omnia Vitiat_**

 

    “They're here,” Minseok yelled across the floor.

 

Jongin popped his head out of the apartment he'd been fixing up to see Minseok rounding the corner that led to the staircase just as the elevators opened. Jongin's eyes immediately went to the first set of steel doors on the wall and watched intently as unfamiliar faces began to emerge and file down the hall, guided by Minseok. The rest of Suho's sect had gone to other floors to wait for the arrival of the pure bloods and the other hiding vampires. He didn't see Lu Han on the first wave of vampires. They had managed to pack many things before coming and carrying all that took most of the elevators, but it had already been an hour more than Lu Han had promised. He was nervous about what could have happened to his lover. And he hadn't seen Narsha yet either. By the third wave, mostly filled with belongings carried by feeders and newer vampires, Jongin was about to give in and call Lu Han. He had already dialed in the number when he heard a familiar ring tone coming from the opening elevator doors and hung up.

 

“Lu Han!”

 

The hunter looked up from glaring at his phone only to be surprised as Jongin rushed forward and enveloped Lu Han in his arms.

 

“J-Jongin?”

 

Jongin pulled away and moved his hands to cup Lu Han's face. He leaned in and took Lu Han's lips in a sudden deep, but gentle kiss. Lu Han pressed a hand to his chest and Jongin pulled away.

 

“It's not the time for that sort of thing, Jongin.”

 

“It's always the time for this sort of thing when I'm worried about you,” Jongin said and kissed the side of Lu Han's head instead.

 

Someone whistled and Jongin turned to see Narsha standing there wearing a simple dress and a coat pulling off more the older sister look than a thousand year old seductive vampire like the last time he'd seen her. She smiled at both of them and crossed her arms.

 

“I feel like I should be teasing one of you, but I'm conflicted on which one. One of you I raised and the other I gave birth to. Both were very problematic youths or so I've heard in your case, Jongin,” Narsha said.

 

“Narsha,” Jongin greeted and finally pulled himself away from Lu Han.

 

“Jongin, I have to help get Narsha's stuff to her room. Will you stay with her until I'm finished?”

 

“Alright,” Jongin agreed. “Just...I need to talk to you.”

 

“Of course.” Lu Han leaned in as he walked around Jongin and returned the kiss from earlier before rushing off down the hall and starting to yell at people.

 

“I apologize if he's been terse with you,” Narsha said. “He's protective of me even if he's not a vampire anymore. I think he still feels bad about running off and joining the war. After joining Suho's sect, he found out I was in hiding and came over often to ask if I needed anything and we would talk. He even took me out a few times even after he became a hunter. Now that I think about it, I think one of those times was when I caught my first glance of your father.”

 

“I don't think he ever deserved you,” Jongin said. “Even his actual wife, I wouldn't wish that marriage on her.”

 

“Oh, do you not get along with your stepmother?” Narsha asked.

 

“We just had a disagreement. What happened at the hideout?” Jongin wasn’t going to discuss Mrs. Kim’s actions earlier that evening with his actual mother. He wasn’t sure how strong her motherly instincts were having not raised him, but he wouldn’t take the chance of her making a move on her own.

 

Narsha eyed Jongin for a moment before sighing. “I've seen ghouls before, Jongin. I've fought them. I've even been bitten by them plenty of times. When I was first born, there were many ghouls. But, I've never lost my fear of them. They're like any skittish wild animal. They're not particularly fast, but they have powerful jumping skills and crazy precision. It's all based on smell and hearing. Ghouls don't see very well except for sparkly things. They like those. But, they don't need to see, they're night creatures that spend most of their time underground. I have never seen a ghoul rip through a werewolf like that, though. The vampire dog I can understand. They were probably surprised tasting that for the first time since they don't like animals, but the werewolf should have scared the ghoul off. It must have been a queen. That, or they're trying to take our territory.”

 

“Why would they try and take your territory?” Jongin asked.

 

“Our territory is all of Seoul. We say that, but we don't really own anything. Other magical creatures like the term 'territory' and for ghouls, that is very literal. Queens use to try and take huge areas of land as territory because once she gave the borders to her horde, she could split them up and they would quite literally protect those borders with their lives. Anything that wasn't a brother or queen that got within their line of sense was game and once it's dead, they can eat it, though they rarely eat anything but humans.”

 

“So she wants Seoul?” Jongin asked.

 

“And the surrounding area. If she puts her horde on the outside and doesn't allow them in the major cities then that leaves the populated areas for her to use as a hunting ground.”

 

“I killed one of her horde in the city, though,” Jongin said.

 

“I believe she's been moving them. That's probably why they were so close to our hideout,” Narsha said. “But not only the territory, I think she knows there are vampires here. She wants to hunt vampires. I wonder if she's pregnant. She would want to eat a lot of vampires if she was expecting a queen.”

 

Jongin frowned. “I won't be some kind of cattle.”

 

“Oh, I assure you we won't. Her horde can't possibly be big enough to take on all the vampire in Seoul, but we did lose the first battle.” Narsha brought a hand up to her chin and stared off into space. “I really did not want to leave the hideout.”

 

“Why?”

 

Narsha sighed. “Being so close and burning, she'll definitely find it. She'll be able to follow our scents back here. Suho must be taking precautions for that, but I've only been retired from war a couple hundred years. I know what the best tactic for fighting these monsters is. We need to find the queen and kill her before she starts hunting us down.”

 

“I agree with you,” Jongin said. “I never fought in a war, but I did run rampage on the streets. And strategic video games were always my favorite.”

 

Narsha chuckled. “I like video games. Especially the ones with vampires in them. Do you know how to kill a ghoul?”

 

“I bit it. A fairy held it down and I bit it.”

 

“Yes, they love eating us. Their stomachs can dilute any poison, but not their blood. Their skin is so paper thin it has to heal fast, but that's just their skin. If you poison it, they can't heal and blood goes to their skin first and then their organs. You exert a force over and over as poison burns their bodies. A fairy's magic can be poisonous, too.”

 

“He held the ghoul down and strangled him,” Jongin said.

 

“Yes, that's one way of doing it. There are a few more instant kills, but they require precision. Like head shots and crushing their hearts. Coating the bullets and blades in poison helps.”

 

“Out of all the things you two could be bonding over, it's how to kill a ghoul?”

 

Jongin turned to see Lu Han making his way towards them. “What would you rather we catch up on?”

 

“We could always talk about sex positions. I have years of experience in that. I'm sure you'd love to finally experience the ones you saw in the brothels,” Narsha teased with a wink.

 

Lu Han scrunched his face up. “Don't tell him that. He's got enough kinks as it is.”

 

Narsha raised a brow at Jongin. “Really?”

 

“Lu Han, I don't think your corset leather jeggings count as a kink,” Jongin complained.

 

“Jeggings, yes that’s what they are!” Narsha laughed. “I'll leave you two to flirt. I have to go and check on my feeders and handlers. We'll catch up again, Jongin.”

 

“I would like that...Narsha.” Jongin wondered if, in a hundred years, he'd be able to refer to Narsha as mother.

 

“Jongin, you wanted to talk? I have a few minutes. Is it about that weird text?”

 

“Yes, come with me.” Jongin took Lu Han's hand and led him down the hall to Suho's apartments. He pulled him inside and found an empty room. “It doesn't seem like a big deal now with the ghoul attack, but you never did answer my question.”

 

Lu Han rolled his eyes. “No, you can't be poisoned unless you gulp half a person's body worth of vampire blood like Kyungsoo did with you. The most you'll get is like an hour of throwing up if you're given enough. And alcohol just makes you delirious. Your mouth can detect any medicine swallowed and it'll fill with venom if it does. The venom immediately dilutes anything in your mouth. Remember, I’ve given you a sedative before. Not even a doctor would subscribe the amount I gave you and it still didn’t work that well even with alcohol.”

 

Jongin nodded remembering the weekend after he’d found out Lu Han was a hunter. And when he’d drank from the glass Mrs. Kim had given him, he had gotten a sudden burst of venom. He hung his head and sighed. The heartbreak from earlier had resurfaced. “Mrs. Kim tried to drug me.”

 

Jongin wasn't looking at Lu Han, but he could feel the slight annoyance he had with the question turn into bitter shock then rage.

 

“Why?” Lu Han asked.

 

Jongin looked up. He'd never seen the hunter so angry before. If he was still a vampire, he'd have his nails out and would be hissing. “She...she wanted me to become her new plaything. I know she doesn't like being married to my father, but she likes being Mrs. Kim. I think it's becoming obvious that I'll be taking over my father's place soon and she's afraid of losing her position. I can't really blame her for being scared. She’s taken so much crap from my father to keep her place beside him.”

 

“Jongin, don't,” Lu Han demanded.

 

Jongin stopped talking. He hadn't noticed he was making up excuses for Mrs. Kim. He still didn't want to believe it.

 

“What did she do to you, Jongin?”

 

Jongin reached out a hand. Lu Han immediately took it and let himself be pulled into Jongin's embrace. “She just kissed me, Lu Han, that's all.”

 

“No she didn't. If she was just going to kiss you, she wouldn't have drugged you,” Lu Han said and wrapped his arms around Jongin's waist, comfortingly rubbing his lower back.

 

Jongin nuzzled his face into Lu Han's hair. “I...well she was planning on sleeping with me. Either she was going to trick me into thinking I'd slept with her or make it to where I didn't know what I was doing. She did grope me. I just...I...”

 

“It's alright Jongin.”

 

Jongin shook his head and closed his eyes tight. “I'm overreacting. It's not really a big deal. I mean, Mrs. Kim isn't terrible looking for her age...I just...I feel gross.”

 

“Jongin, what kind of people do you hate?”

 

The question caught Jongin off guard. When he was a teenager, he thought he hated woman. His mother wouldn't listen to him and the girls he slept with and that slept with his gang made him want to throw up, but after the incident in which he left his gang, he understood he hated what the gang made of those girls and women. Then he met his father and hated men like him, the man who left his mother contradicting her own desires. “I hate people who take advantage of people, who tell them what they're suppose to be.”

 

“You're doing that right now, Jongin. You're telling yourself what you're suppose to be. I know what it feels like, Jongin. I know.”

 

Of course Lu Han did. Jongin felt stupid and held Lu Han tighter. “I'm sorry.”

 

“Apologize to yourself, Jongin.”

 

“She...I thought she saw me as her son. My mother doesn't even have family connections to me and she would never...I just...”

 

“Do you want to cry?” Lu Han asked.

 

“Yes.” Jongin could already feel the water spilling from his eyes.

 

Lu Han moved one of his hands up to Jongin's hair and patted through it. “I promise, I'll still kiss you when you're done.”

 

**$**

 

“Okay, so that's twelve boxes of normal chicken, five boxes of seasoned chicken, four meat lovers pizzas and one veggie, and then you're going to text me the coffee orders, right?” Jongin asked double checking the note app on his new phone as he held a call with Lu Han.

 

“Yes, and make sure to get plenty of napkins. I'll send Sehun or Chanyeol out to get the food with the car, just order them, but bring the coffees yourself then we'll walk back to my apartment together,” Lu Han said from the other line.

 

“Sounds like a plan. Did Narsha need anything in particular? Or Junmyeon? I did volunteer to help, but getting everyone lunch was not what I had in mind. Can't they just take blood for now?”

 

“Yes, but the feeders have to eat and the werewolves aren't being allowed out for the full moon so they can't hunt. Oh, pick up some dog food and large dog leashes if you get time.”

 

“You're not seriously going to feed them dog food, are you?” Jongin asked. “The leashes I understand.”

 

“I'm not feeding it to them. It's a kink I think. And nevermind that, Jongdae knows what brand,” Lu Han said. “I'll send him.”

 

“Then I'll see you in an hour or two,” Jongin said and hung up. He slipped his phone into his blazer pocket and swapped the new briefcase he'd invested in to his other hand. It wasn't the prettiest thing, but Jongin had been looking for durable and cheap considering what happened to his first briefcase. And he needed it. Now that he was doing actual work at the bank as well as helping take care of the hidden vampires, he didn't have time to study there. He had to bring his materials home with him. He had already passed the basics on the computer way faster than he ever did being taught by professionals in college.

 

Jongin headed towards his favorite chicken place to order the requested food and called in to the pizzeria since that would take longer. His main goal was the coffee. Not being a big coffee drinker himself, Jongin wasn't sure where cafes were that would allow him to get all the different combinations Lu Han was sure to put on his text. He remembered a chain cafe close by the deli. It would take him fifteen minutes more to get there, but Lu Han still had to finish writing down all the coffee orders. Why everyone wanted coffee at night, Jongin wasn't sure. He had come to understand that vampires in hiding tended to sleep their natural hours, the opposite from humans. So maybe it was morning for them and, like pack mentality, once one person suggested coffee, they all wanted it.

 

It wasn't long before Jongin found himself standing outside of Krystal Wiches. It didn't look like there was any renovating going on, just empty and dusty and pathetic. Maybe the contractors hadn't started yet or Krystal had to go on vacation in order to get the furniture she wanted. Either way, the lights were on, but it seemed quiet. He checked the door, it was locked. Jongin had been avoiding coming this way for a while. Honestly, he didn't know how to quit a job since he'd never had one before. He hadn’t even quite his gang properly. He didn't think Krystal would give him a hard time for it, but he felt odd doing it and Krystal wasn't making it any easier not being around. Jongin reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his key ring. He didn't have many, an old one from his studio, one for the house, a couple for the bank, and one for Lu Han's apartment. Then, he had the key for Krystal Wiches. He hadn't thought to give it back, but he was here and he could at least leave a note where Krystal could see it whenever she decided to come back.

 

With a sigh, Jongin slipped the key into the door and walked into Krystal Wiches for the first time in what felt like forever. He had expected a sense of nostalgia to overcome him, but instead, he felt misplaced. The deli looked the same if unkempt and a bit emptier, but something was off. The smell of the lunch meats and fresh vegetables were gone. Krystal wouldn't have bothered putting that out if there were no customers. Jongin moved, looking around. He stepping quietly as he made his way to the backroom as if afraid to disturb the forgotten aura of the deli. It did seem like Krystal had packed up some stuff. The herbal decorations she had wanted to use were gone, only a couple of the older strands of painted garlic hug crumpled at the counter. At least Krystal kept some priorities. Jongin grimaced when he heard his shoes start making wet sticky steps after he'd passed the counter and looked down.

 

“For crying out...” Jongin muttered. He wanted to throw his shoes away. Krystal must have been at the deli fairly recently. Maybe she had just left when Jongin got there with whatever guy she was messing around with. She was definitely going to get health code violations if anyone saw them, which who wouldn't, the front of the deli had fairly large windows even if the stores in viewing distance were closed. Jongin paused before heading into the back groom. He could hear something in the kitchen. He turned right and pushed the door open slowly. If Krystal was still here with her guy friend, Jongin didn't want a repeat of last time. He'd rather hear her first than see her. There was a sort of moaning sound, but it was different. Jongin cracked the door open a bit more and peaked in.

 

Blood. Jongin could smell it, stronger than what the deli usually smelt like. Krystal did like to experiment with none cold cut sandwiches though they hardly ever sold any of those. He wondered if she'd brought another pig in. He could see it sprinkled across the floor along with small chunks of flesh and meat. His eyes followed the trail it made to the main body. A limp figure laid naked on the floor. Well, most of a figure. There was a gaping wound that trailed from below the rib cage to their bleeding bloody crotch where a slim white body was nestled between cut up thighs. The slim figure was sprinkled with blood and their hands were red as they lifted a warm wet tidbit of muscle and skin to familiar lips. It past between them in one smooth slurp. The figure moaned as they swallowed and ran a hand down to their stomach to rub their taut abs and left a red streak of the dismembered man’s blood on their porcelain skin. They reached out and pressed their fingers into the wound at the man’s crotch, nails digging in, blood squelching loud in the otherwise silent room as the figure ripped off another piece of flesh.

 

“Krystal.”

 

The slim figure turned their head. It was Krystal who sat between the man's thighs with blood sprinkled across her body and sticky locks of her long hair clumped together. The whole front of her face was covered in blood and there was a trace of stray flesh on her chin. Jongin felt his stomach churn. There was so much blood, but Jongin couldn't be bothered to see it as the blood he was use to feasting on. Blood regenerated. A body didn't. Krystal's eyes widened and she leaned forward as if to cover the man's mutilated body.

 

“He wanted me to,” she said quickly.

 

Jongin looked the man up and down. His chest was still rising and falling. There was a syringe sticking out of one of his arms. He had heard of anthropophagy and other mutilations that turned people on, but Jongin was pretty sure, by this point, that would be more on Krystal's side and not the man's. With how he was bleeding, the man didn't have much time left.

 

“He...Jongin, he was going to rape me. It was self-defense,” Krystal said, quickly changing her story. Though she was looking at Jongin, she wasn't meeting his eyes.

 

Jongin took in a deep breath to try and calm himself. There could be a crazy, but human explanation to this. He didn't have to go jumping the gun though he almost wished he had one the moment he got past the smell of all that blood. Every fiber in his body told him to run. Jongin's nails grew and he dug them into his hands.

 

“Krystal,” he said carefully, “when did you start wearing that perfume?”

 

“Perfu—,” Krystal started then looked around. “The garlic, I didn’t replace it. Weren’t you quitting?”

 

Garlic? Jongin remembered Jongdae mentioning vampires tended to get distracted by other smells. Was garlic one of them? His mouth had been so full of the taste the night he and Taemin had been attacked that that was all he could smell. There had to have been an origin for the myth of vampires not being able to eat garlic. “Tell me this is a nightmare, Krystal.”

 

“Jongin, please don't tell anyone. I...I love you, but I'm no good for you like this. Let it go and leave,” Krystal said looking around frantically. It was similar to when she had tried to defend herself after Jongin caught her having sex the first time or when they’d been in the same room when it was announced on the news that one of the men she had been sleeping with was dead.

 

Lies. They had all been lies. Jongin was so tired of lies. “Tell me!”

 

Krystal stared at him for a moment. The man's shallow breaths became slower and slower then stopped. She turned to the man and lowered her head. “It's a nightmare.”

 

Jongin's phone beeped. Lu Han's text. “No it's not.” He reached for his phone.

 

“Don't!” Krystal suddenly leaped from the body on the floor and grabbed Jongin. The force of her body did manage to knock Jongin aside and he lost his footing rolling onto the floor with Krystal on top of him. “You don't understand, Jongin. Can't you just leave and pretend you didn't see this? I...I don't want to have to kill you.”

 

Jongin grimaced. Her smell, that smell. It was all around him. Before, he'd always been surrounded by the garlic and she must have been carrying a spray when out on the streets, but it wasn't a smell that lingered for a long time. Right up in his face, it was nauseating and he wanted to run, he really did. “Ghoul.”

 

Krystal's face suddenly fell. She lowered her head, her black hair falling from her shoulders. “So you do know.”

 

Before Jongin really understood what was happening, he felt sharp teeth ripping into his shoulders. Jongin hissed and growled and forced Krystal off of him along with part of his shoulder. He didn't bother trying to cover the wound. It was already healing. He stared at Krystal now all the way across the kitchen.

 

She stood there chewing then swallowed and licked her lips and her fingers, eyes finally meeting Jongin's. “You taste just as delicious as I had imagined you would. A born vampire not born a vampire. Like fine cuisine, but not the outrageously expensive kind that isn't even that good.”

 

Jongin hissed at her. “You knew.”

 

“Yes,” Krystal said. “Why do you think you even worked here? I could have just taken your money, but I could smell it. I want to eat you, Kim Jongin, but now that you know, I'm afraid I have to kill you. What a waste.” As Krystal talked, her body began to shift, change. Jongin was transfixed by it. Her hair pitch black, morphed into white, not platinum like his own, scraggly and frizzy and her shapely body twisted and shrunk as all her muscle and fat moved to her thighs. Her skin stretched taut over her bones and she lifted heavy claws with great effort, over a foot long each. Her dark eyes became milky and she started to twitch her head around as if to locate him. Krystal reached out one arm towards Jongin. Unlike the other queen Jongin had met, Krystal only wore one piece of jewelry. Covered in blood on her right wrist was a simple gold chain bracelet like her sister's.

 

Run.

 

Yes, yes, Jongin knew he needed to do that, but there was only one way out of the kitchen. He was definitely faster than Krystal, but he had all this blood on him, she'd be able to chase his smell as well as just hear him move even if she couldn't see him as well in her real form. What did it matter, though. Jongin needed to get back to Lu Han.

 

Jongin ran.

 

Krystal screeched and came barreling after him. He jumped over the counter, not caring to grab his case. He pushed through the front doors feeling Krystal right at his feet. The door managed to hit her when it closed after him. He only got a couple buildings down with the time before she just smashed through one of the glass windows. People would be coming out now. Jongin turned down the next alley then scaled the wall of one of the buildings to get onto a roof. The next building was an apartment. He wanted to be quiet, but Krystal was doing anything but. She was making a ruckus chasing after him. And she wasn’t wearing her mask. Jongin understood why the other queen had ran after Jongin had dislodged her mask. Other than their milky eyes and mouth, a ghoul’s face in human form and ghoul form were the same. He started towards one of the busy streets to throw her off, losing his bloodied blazer along the way. When he finally found a empty enough alley by the busy street, he jumped, barely missing a dumpster and waited.

 

Nothing.

 

Jongin took a deep breath then froze when he heard Krystal's screech. A few seconds later, it was answered by a more familiar one.

 

Two queens.

 

Jongin took a deep breath and slid to the floor of the alley. There wasn't any time for coffee. First, he needed a change of clothes. Then, he was going to head straight to Yifan.

 

**$**

 

Jongin sat wrapped in a blanket and was given a mug of hot chocolate injected with cold O negative blood from Yifan's personal stash. “I thought you were a Monster Hunter. What do you have this for?”

 

“For when things like you trample into my home,” Yifan said hanging dirtied towels by the fireplace along with Jongin's newly washed shoes.

 

“I'm sorry about that. I didn't think to buy new shoes. I was already running in these ones.”

 

“You thought to buy new clothes but not shoes?”

 

Jongin frowned. It wasn't like he had stood around for more than five minutes deciding what to get. The first long sleeved shirt and pants he'd seen he'd snatched up, sunglasses and a cap a last minute thought before hurrying his way to the hunter's headquarters. The taxi he'd gotten in almost refused to take him to that part of town until Jongin flashed a black card at him. The driver had stepped on it after that Jongin barely managed to get out of the taxi after swiping his card before it whizzed off. He'd hobbled into the hunter's estate and immediately started yelling bloody murder once inside. Zitao had been the one to find him and rushed off to find Yifan. Jongin managed a mess of an explanation and then Yifan had commanded Zitao to do a bunch of things, one of which was to bring Lu Han. “I was in a rush to get here. Besides, my shirt had my blood on it, not my shoes.”

 

“Your shoes had other things.” Yifan finished putting up the towels he'd used to clean the entranceway of Jongin's dirty shoes. He turned to Jongin, sighed, then took a seat in an armchair rubbing his head. “I've turned down so many roles because of this stupid ghoul problem. Two. Two queens. They really could get a large horde that way. That's at least four potential more queens in two years. More ghouls if they give birth to litters.”

 

“Litters?”

 

“Usually it's one or two ghouls birthed at a time, but if a queen isn't being picky and sleeps with one of her horde, doing so would cause birth defects. In ghouls, that defect is a litter. That’s why they started having sex with humans in the first place. They can have seven children in only a matter of a few months. Not all of them will make it, and they're far from the strongest ghouls, the most infertile, but it's a good way to get numbers up. Back when I had first become a vampire, there were a lot of ghouls. Most ghouls with a large area slept with their horde in order to increase numbers and only slept with human men for fun as part of their dinner, or to add another strong ghoul to a new area. Sometimes they got a queen instead of a strong ghoul. They use to be called soldier ghouls. I guess you could think of them like ants. They're as much of a pest as them. And if they were sisters working together, one could make litters while the other made strong ghouls or worked on a queen.”

 

“I don't think they're working together,” Jongin said.

 

“Don't try and make that ghoul seem innocent. You said she bit your shoulder off.”

 

Jongin's shoulder twitched remembering the sound of his flesh ripping from his shoulder and Krystal swallowing it. He took a sip of his blood flavored chocolate. It did help calm him down though nothing compared to Lu Han's blood or Lu Han's arms. Jongin really wished Lu Han would hurry up and get there. “She definitely wanted to eat me. I'm not saying her hiring me was anything else. Probably from the beginning, she'd planned on seducing me then eating me.”

 

“I've never known a ghoul to take so long to prepare a meal. You said the man found dead after your apprentice was one she had dealings with?”

 

“Yes. She was sleeping with him in order to fund her deli.” Jongin remembered how Krystal reacted when she found out the man had died. It wasn't so much surprised. Maybe she was scared she'd made a mistake and Jongin would find out about her. Or perhaps she wasn't the one that killed him. “I met her sister.”

 

“Yes, a Jessica and she was blond.”

 

Jongin nodded. “They were fighting. That's why I don't think they're working together.”

 

Yifan chuckled. “Just because a bit of a sibling tiff? Siblings do that all the time. Even ones that aren't actually related. Tell me, if your mother suddenly decided to pursue being a world famous surgeon, would you help her?”

 

“Yes,” Jongin answered.

 

“Even though she's not your real mother?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Even though she didn't agree with your dreams?”

 

Jongin frowned. He didn't know Yifan knew that much about him. Lu Han did seem to talk quite a bit about Jongin, enough for the other hunters and vampires to know he liked the boy. They had had a conversation about Jongin's dreams to become a dancer many many times. But, he understood now that he couldn't when he was younger. And though Jongin hadn't talked to his mother in weeks, he was starting to miss her. Holding her that night she'd admitted to not being his mother felt similar to when he was no more than a toddler and his mother would do the same for him. She hadn't really become cold until Jongin started being serious about wanting to dance and his step-father encouraged it. Kim Eunjoon had only allowed her to raise Jongin if he became a back up heir. Had Jongin been accepted to a company, even debuted, he would have fought his father a lot more. That, or he would have taken him away from his mother and that may have been what she was so afraid of.

 

“Yes.”

 

Yifan leaned back in his chair. “So would that ex-boss of yours. They're sisters. She seems like a free spirit, but her sister must be the one with the big dream. I must say, I don't know how we didn't find her before. We're constantly surveying the area around where you work since you seem to be a target of the ghouls, but there was never more than a faint scent of it. A similar scent everywhere else we've gone where the ghoul has been but isn't.”

 

“Garlic,” Jongin said. “Jongdae mentioned vampires could be distracted by smells. She was always hanging garlic around the deli as decoration. It must have been to mask her scent. Unless I was really close to something, I never could smell anything other than blood and garlic and the deli meats.”

 

“ Blood is one thing we can always smell, but garlic is one smell that will mask almost any other for us. She’s a smart, smart ghoul.” Yifan pulled out his phone and scrolled through it before his eyes moved to the front door.

 

“Jongin!”

 

Jongin turned to see Lu Han stomping his boot-pants on the entryway, dirt caking off of them, then across the floor to stand in front of Jongin, huffing, lips pulled back and teeth clenched.

 

“Lu Han, I really hate those pants. You're going to ruin the floor,” Yifan complained.

 

“I don't give a shit about your floor right now, Yifan. I only care about my stupid, apparently delicious, boyfriend.”

 

Lu Han bent down, hands going to the back of the couch Jongin was curled up on caging him in, and glared. Jongin leaned back, eyes wide, not sure what to make of the expression Lu Han was giving him. Was he worried, mad? Lu Han did seem to be a mad worrier. His eyes seemed a bit wet, dark twinkling eyes. Jongin started to smile and eased up. He was happy Lu Han was here with him.

 

“Are you going to kiss me, Lu Han?” Jongin asked.

 

“I want to, but I can't.” Lu Han glanced down at Jongin's mug then back to Jongin's face.

 

“Oh!...Well then I'll kiss you.” Jongin leaned up and placed his lips against Lu Han's Jaw just where it met his neck.

 

Lu Han sighed at the kiss and slumped down beside Jongin on the couch. “This is exhausting.”

 

Jongin wrapped an arm around Lu Han and pulled him closer. He smelled so nice. Jongin put the mug between his thighs and forgot about it. Being wrapped up in the blanket with Lu Han was much more comfortable than whatever Yifan had been trying to do with the blood chocolate milk.

 

“Where's Zitao?” Yifan asked.

 

“I ran ahead of him,” Lu Han said. “He'll be here in a second.”

 

It was a whole minute before Zitao showed up at the door. He actually bothered to take his complicated shoes off before slinking over to the loveseat and pulled out a laptop from under it starting to type away. He turned it around to show everyone.

 

“The title of the actual renter of Krystal Wiches. No one named Krystal owns it. It's not even a woman's name. He's a real person. An older higher paid every day business man with a wife and two young children,” Zitao explained.

 

“That's her type,” Jongin pointed out. “Can we question him about where to find Krystal. I know she didn't sleep in the deli. She was almost never there.”

 

“I don't think there's a point in bothering with that,” Yifan said and reached out to the laptop. He opened a new tab and typed in the man's name. “Do any of these guys look familiar to you? Besides the obvious.”

 

The man shared a similar name with a few celebrities, but there were also a few normal looking men in normal looking pictures. One did seem awfully familiar, though it had been laying on the kitchen floor the last and only time Jongin had seen it. “He’s dead.”

 

Yifan nodded and leaned back. “I figured as much. The lease agreement was up next month if you noticed.”

 

“But the deli had only been opened maybe one month before I started working there,” Jongin said. “This is a six month lease.”

 

“It was opened, though. And perhaps he already had plans for it. There are people who lease places and then lease those places out,” Yifan pointed out.

 

“So he came to get his payment for the next six months?” Jongin guessed.

 

“She must have been done with the deli, though, killing him there, so it wasn't as if you weren't next on her list.”

 

Jongin frowned. “I don't really understand it...I...we got along. I mean, if she wanted to eat me so bad, she was doing a terrible job at seducing me. I've caught her with other man so many times we should have been closed down for health violations.”

 

Lu Han sighed. “Maybe she realized you were gay.”

 

“Or her sister interrupted her plans,” Yifan pointed out. “We can't know for sure and we may never. We have to find both these queens and kill them.”

 

“I...want answers,” Jongin said. He felt betrayed. Krystal was such an enigma. She reminded him of himself when he was young, of how he wanted to live his life. All of that was different now, but he would have liked to keep her as a friend, or let her float away from him as easily as she'd come in.

 

Lu Han shifted closer to Jongin. “We'll try, but we can't make promises, Jongin. Capturing a ghoul could be very risky.”

 

Jongin sighed. “Of course.”

 

“There's no point in talking about capturing when we don't even know where they are,” Zitao said typing away at his laptop.

 

“I thought that's what I sent you out to do,” Yifan pointed out.

 

“Yes, that, and fetch the deer. I did both, but it's not easy digging in. Suho's on it and I even sent Xing Xing out with Jongdog. I only could get so much information. We'd have to search every cemetery close by, but that's just for the horde.”

 

“The horde is probably at the burnt up sect's hideout,” Jongin said. “Narsha mentioned something like that.”

 

“No, the police are still there,” Yifan said.

 

“Underground. There are passageways underground that lead not far from the hideout. The last time we used them was in the Korean War, but the ghouls could have found them,” Lu Han pointed out.

 

Yifan's eyes widened and he nodded. “We'll send a patrol of vampires out to keep the queens from getting close. And if they're already there, then we've caught them.”

 

“They wouldn't go there immediately. I'm sure at least one queen would hide somewhere else especially after Jongin's boss notifies her sister about being caught,” Zitao countered.

 

Where would they be able to find Kyrstal or Jessica? Jongin wished he knew a bit more about Krystal, just a bit, but it seemed she either went to a hotel with the men she slept with or brought them to the deli. And the ones Jongin knew about were already dead so he couldn't ask them questions. He knew even less about Jessica having only seen her once except, maybe he did know more about Jessica.

 

“Bracelets. The elder sister, Jessica, she runs an online shop. She sales jewelry. Apparently, her bracelets are really popular. One of the girls that slept with my brother-in-law had one. I don't know what the shop is called, but we could look into it. They're just really simple gold chains,” Jongin said.

 

“Online shop? Would she have some kind of clue as to where she lived from an internet shop?” Yifan asked.

 

Zitao was staring off into space before suddenly starting to type again at his computer. He turned the laptop around to reveal a classy looking webpage. “Eclaire's Jewels.” He scrolled down a bit and pointed out a bracelet. “XingXing bought me one, but it was too small so we sent it back. They don't come in men's sizes.”

 

“Track down the return address,” Yifan said suddenly standing up. “Jongin, give me the name of the girl involved with your brother then send police to protect her.”

 

“I already have police protecting her until my brother-in-law is out of the hospital,” Jongin said. “He only has a couple weeks before they'll release him. He has to be able to at least move something.”

 

Yifan nodded and went to the entryway, slipping on his shoes. “Lu Han, you don't let Jongin go anywhere without you for the next couple of days. And, stay here tonight, you still have your spare bedroom.”

 

“Understood,” Lu Han said. Jongin didn't think Lu Han was going to leave him tonight anyways.

 

Zitao got up from the loveseat with his laptop and started to walk down the hall. “I'll try tracking down what I can from the website.”

 

“Where are you going?” Lu Han asked turning a bit to watch Yifan as he adjusted his trench coat and the hidden weapons inside. Jongin turned as well.

 

“I'm going to a flower shop and maybe to buy chocolates. It's been awhile since I've tried to seduce someone into talking,” Yifan said and pushed his bangs back with his hand. “Text me her information, Jongin.”

 

Lu Han gave Jongin a look when Yifan left. “Minseok's not going to be happy about this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated.


	20. Hoc Est Bellum

**20. _Hoc Est Bellum_**

 

    It was four in the morning when Jongin heard his phone ring. He had to shift out of the comfortable confines of Lu Han's arms and reach over the other man without pushing him off the single bed to reach his phone he'd placed on a small stand in Lu Han's old room at the Monster Hunter's headquarters.

 

“Hello?” Jongin answered groggily.

 

“Jongin? Did I wake you?” The voice on the other line was soft and feminine. Jongin had expected Yifan or one of the vampires. The only female vampire he had spoken with was Narsha and she sounded much different than this. And it wouldn't be Krystal.

 

“Hyuna?”

 

“Hmm? Oh, yes, you just bought a new phone so you wouldn't know. It's your sister.”

 

Jongin rubbed his face to try and wake up more and looked at the time on his phone. It was three thirty in the morning. He'd barely been asleep an hour after waiting up for any information from the others then getting bored and spending a good hour messing around on the small bed with Lu Han. “It's early. But, what did you need?”

 

Hyuna didn't answer right away. There was some shuffling on the other end then a sigh. “Can you come to Hyoyeon's place? We're bringing a doctor over to...Before it gets too late, they're going to take care of my problem. They're bringing some equipment.”

 

“Do you know how long you've been pregnant yet?” Jongin asked waking up.

 

“I'm still in my first trimester. I went to Jeju with Hyoyeon after Insung woke up and made a show of it, but I managed to get checked out there in a disguise. It wasn't a place that did abortions,” Hyuna said. “Can you come?”

 

She sounded scared. Jongin didn't know the man that Hyuna had been sleeping with, but he probably didn't want a child and Hyuna probably didn't want his child. And with trying to get a divorce, being pregnant with another man's child wouldn't work in their favor. He felt conflicted, but, ultimately, it wasn't his choice.

 

“Is it alright if I bring someone?”

 

“What? This is suppose to be a secret, Jongin. The doctor is already enough of a risk.”

 

“It's my lover. He'll be kicked out of South Korea if he breathes a word of it to anyone,” Jongin promised though he knew that wouldn't happen.

 

“He?” Hyuna asked.

 

Jongin didn't say anything, just let it sink in. Hyuna had trusted him with her problems so he had to give her a secret of his own. He wasn't suppose to go anywhere without Lu Han anyways.

 

“Alright,” Hyuna agreed. “Thirty minutes, that's when the doctor's arriving.”

 

She hung up and Jongin laid back down, putting a hand over his eyes and taking in slow breaths. All he really wanted to do was hide in Lu Han's arms for the rest of the day, but it was still a weekday and he had work later and he wanted to support his sisters.

 

“Are you going to get up?”

 

Jongin uncovered his eyes to see Lu Han sitting up in the bed staring down at Jongin. Jongin reached out and ran a hand along Lu Han's naked shoulders before sitting up as well.

 

“Did you hear all of that?”

 

“Of course. You're lucky I still have clothes here.” Lu Han moved from the bed and walked his naked pale form to a door on the opposite side of the small room. He pulled out a basic pair of black skinny jeans, a white button up and a leather jacket and dressed himself in them. “All I've got is black and suits, is that alright with you?”

 

Jongin sat up and stretched. “Do you have sweatpants? I don't think your pants will fit me. And what about underwear?”

 

“Use your old ones. I didn't bother leaving any here when I moved,” Lu Han said taking out a pair of fancy black sweats and a simple black shirt to throw at Jongin. “What do you want to do about shoes? I've got flip flops.”

 

“That's fine. I think we'll just jump around. It'll be more inconspicuous that way.”

 

“Your sisters will be suspicious, though,” Lu Han pointed out.

 

“They'll find out one day anyways, it's alright if they get suspicious,” Jongin said and hurried to get dressed.

 

The morning was cold or so Jongin guessed by the thick amount of fog masking the air. It was good weather for them, but not so much for the vampires and hunters helping in tracking Krystal and her sister down. They'd left a note for Zitao who had passed out for a nap at his computer in his own room before leaving. Jongin slipped every other building as they jumped and climbed and ran through the city towards Hyoyeon's apartment. He'd rather be barefoot than wear these flip flops anymore, but that would mean potentially leaving blood trails if he stomped on something and he couldn't put his sisters at risk like that. Finally, they reached the building opposite Hyoyeon's and Jongin pulled out his phone to text Hyoyeon to open one of the windows in her apartment. She stuck around probably curious of why and Jongin had to send her another message to leave.

 

“Think you can make it?” Lu Han asked.

 

“If I don't, you'll be right behind me,” Jongin said and stepped back a couple feet before running and jumping, barely making it through the small space of the window without splattering himself against something. He rolled across the floor with a small thump as his head hit the wall opposite. Lu Han was a pro landing nimbly on the windowsill and climbing in. He also had better shoes on.

 

“Hello?”

 

Lu Han had just closed the window when Hyoyeon appeared in the room they'd landed in, eyes wide and as if she was about to yell at them.

 

Jongin held up a hand. “Don't ask questions. There was no way I was coming in through the front looking like this.”

 

Hyoyeon put a hand on one of her hips. “You do look ridiculous.”

 

Jongin glared at Lu Han. The hunter looked fashionable all but his hair which was literally sex and bed hair, not just styled that way. Lu Han only shrugged and reached out a hand to help Jongin up.

 

Hyoyeon led them out to the livingroom where Hyuna was seated with a cup of tea in her hands nestled between her thighs. Her very being radiated nervousness. Jongin moved to the couch closest to her armchair with Lu Han and she finally looked up. She smiled shakily at Jongin then looked at Lu Han.

 

“You look familiar.”

 

Lu Han shrugged. “I worked at the bank up until a couple weeks ago.”

 

Hyoyeon stood in the corner with arms crossed. “You think we can trust him? How long have you two been dating?”

 

“Not long enough, but I've known him long enough,” Jongin said. “He won't say anything and in return, you two won't say anything about us.”

 

Hyoyeon didn't seem convinced, but Hyuna nodded.

 

There was a knock on the door and Hyoyeon went to answer it. There was a woman pushing a cart with a large box on it into the apartment. Hyoyeon led her to a room and started to set up whatever equipment she had managed to bring with her.

 

“It's really loud,” Hyuna said.

 

Jongin frowned and reached out, placing a hand on her knee. “You don't have to, Hyuna. I can figure something else out.”

 

Hyuna sighed and shook her head. “I've had an abortion before. When I was in high school. Mother took me to do it. A lot of rich girls have done it. I don't like it, but that's not what I'm afraid of. The doctor said I had high stress levels and if Insung finds out, even if he's got a broken leg, he might still hurt me and it. I'd rather just let it end now. I'm afraid of those.” Hyuna nodded her head to the coffee table in front of her where a packet sat.

 

Jongin reached out and looked through them. “Divorce papers. You already got them?”

 

Hyuna nodded. “Those are the easy version of them. I tried to make it fair, but with me still coming out on top. They just came today so Insung will know about them soon. I wanted to get him to sign them while he was still in the hospital. I was suppose to do it yesterday, but I just...I'm scared.”

 

Jongin put the papers down and moved to kneel in front of his sister. “I'll take care of you, Hyuna. I want us to be family. I want us to depend on each other, I really do. Don't worry about getting Jo Insung to sign those, I'll take care of that.”

 

Hyuna stared at Jongin, eyes watery. “Are you sure? You know so little still. I...I thought you'd run away from all of this the first chance you got.”

 

Jongin shook his head. “I'm going to take the bank. I want it and I want my sisters to be happy. That's my new dream, alright?”

 

“I hope it doesn't stay a dream,” Hyuna said and smiled.

 

“I hope so, too.”

 

Hyoyeon suddenly appeared in the living room again. “The doctor is ready, Hyuna. I think she brought more than she needed.”

 

Hyuna put her tea on the table and stood putting on a stern face. She started towards the room with the doctor, but stopped and turned her head back. At first, Jongin thought maybe she was having second thoughts. Her eyes went to Hyoyeon first who looked away immediately than to Jongin as if she wanted to ask something. Lu Han suddenly stood and walked up to her.

 

“I'll go in with you if you don't mind,” Lu Han said.

 

Relief seemed to come across Hyuna's face. “You don't have to. We barely know each other.”

 

“I've seen it before,” Lu Han said. “I worked at a brothel cleaning up messes when I was very young in China, I've seen way worse.”

 

Hyuna frowned, but nodded and took Lu Han's hand as she led him inside the room.

 

“She wanted someone to go with her?” Jongin asked turning to Hyoyeon.

 

Hyoyeon nodded and moved to occupy the chair Hyuna had been sitting in. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “She wanted me to go in with her, but I just can't think of doing something like that. It's her choice, but I don't want to watch.”

 

“I would have gone,” Jongin said.

 

“You don't know what you're talking about, Jongin. That's why your boyfriend went,” Hyoyeon said. “I didn't know they even had brothels in China.”

 

A hundred years ago they did, but Jongin didn't bother correcting that. “He's had an interesting life.”

 

Hyoyeon hummed. “Doesn't look that old to have done so much.”

 

“He's a lot older than he looks,” Jongin said.

 

“You really do look ridiculous,” Hyoyeon pointed out again.

 

Jongin frowned. “Well, I could have come naked. They're his clothes.”

 

“But he looks good.”

 

“Yeah, he does,” Jongin agreed.

 

“He seems nice,” Hyoyeon said.

 

“He better. I've had a crush on him before I even knew I was gay.”

 

“You're gay? You don't like both or either?” Hyoyeon asked.

 

“No, just guys.”

 

“So you've never slept with a woman?”

 

Jongin frowned. “Didn't you hear? I was a troublemaker in high school. Of course I did. But then I stopped and I was a little bit happier.”

 

“What about heirs? You can't have children with him.”

 

Jongin knew that. “If I could, I would, but you don't have to worry about that. If you and Hyuna ever decide to actually have a kid, I could always do it like that, but I have other plans.”

 

“Plans like you jumping through my window. There aren't balconies in these apartments, you couldn't have climbed.”

 

“Yes, plans like that,” Jongin said.

 

Hyoyeon fell silent after that. They sat there in the living room ignoring the whirling of a machine from down the hall, but mostly, it was silent. They both turned to look when the door opened not long after and Hyuna limped a bit as she exited followed by Lu Han.

 

Immediately, Hyoyeon stood and took Hyuna's hand helping her back in the chair.

 

Jongin didn't see or smell any blood and turned to Lu Han who only held up a bottle. “Pills, they can do pills now.”

 

“The doctor said it was best to do pills,” Hyuna said. “I'm not as far along as I thought. She still did a check.”

 

Jongin was relieved. He didn't want to see Hyuna in pain.

 

Hyoyeon suddenly brought out her wallet. “I’ll go pay the doctor.”

 

Lu Han grabbed Hyoyeon’s wrist. “I already took care of that. It’s better if you can’t be linked to her.”

 

Both sisters blinked at Lu Han, Jongin did as well before grinning. “Thanks, Lu Han.”

 

Lu Han shrugged. “Payment should have been the first thing they thought about. I’ve got the money, so it’s fine.”

 

“Pretty, mysterious, and rich,” Hyoyeon said and put her wallet back.

 

Jongin shook his head and stood. He reached out to the coffee table and grabbed the divorce papers. “Do you mind if I take these?”

 

Hyuna shook her head. “I have a copy if you need it.”

 

Jongin shook his head. “I won't, he'll sign them, I promise. Just stay here and rest for now. I'll see you soon.”

 

“We'll be taking the window again if you don't mind,” Lu Han said waving to the sisters before following Jongin out.

 

“That was nothing like I had to help Narsha with,” Lu Han said as they landed on the building across the way.

 

“Medicine has advanced, Lu Han.”

 

“Well, yeah, because half those women died from that, the other half from giving birth to the actual child.”

 

“Lu Han,” Jongin whined.

 

“Right, I won't bring that up. I've actually repressed it until now,” Lu Han said and held a hand out towards his apartment. “Shall we get you some real clothes?”

 

Jongin looked at the divorce papers in his hands and nodded. “I need a shower and a suit.”

 

**$**

 

As soon as visiting hours were opened, Jongin got into the elevator at the hospital Jo Insung was being kept at and headed up to his floor. The nurses didn't bother asking if he needed help and he strolled right up to the private room of Jo Insung, slipping in unnoticed by anything but the cameras. Jongin took a seat on the small couch across from the large bed his brother-in-law was set up on with a broken leg raised high on a sling and he had a wheelchair next to him with a foot rest raised the same. He was suppose to be going home in a week or two. The only reason he hadn't been taken to his parent's house right away was because of the controversy. The reporters would come in larger flocks to the Jo estate. They still stayed outside of the hospital, but security was tight for a place where people were suppose to be healing. Insung was asleep and Jongin didn't wish to wake him yet. He stared at the man with condemnation. He had never gotten along with his brother-in-law, but he had never thought to hate him until Hyuna told him he hit her, he hurt her. Jongin use to hope that his father would reconcile with the Jo family and come to an agreement about the split of power in the bank so Jo Insung could become heir, but now he wanted the bank so there was no use for a messed up guy like this in their lives. Jongin was already going to have to deal with one.

 

The look must have woken Jo Insung. He blinked away sleep, looked around, and when his eyes landed on Jongin lounging on the couch, they widened and he tried to get up only to wince in pain.

 

“Don't bother hurting yourself over little old me,” Jongin said sitting up properly. He kept the same look, but sat comfortably with his hands in his expensive coat's pockets, black suit neatly done up underneath and white hair pushed back.

 

“Jongin,” Jo Insung said. It was almost like he'd seen a ghost.

 

Jongin chuckled. They hadn't seen each other for a while. “Yes. I've come to visit you, brother-in-law.”

 

“What do you want? Where's my wife. I heard she went to play around with her sister.”

 

Jongin shook his head. “You don't get to ask about her, wife beater.”

 

Jo Insung frowned at those words. “Are you accusing me of something, Jongin? Shouldn't you be at the bank following your father's plans?”

 

“His plans? You think me coming here was his plan? You think me befriending the Kim Ho bank was his plan? You think becoming Mr. Bang's intern was his plan? Think that if you want, but I have my own agenda. I'll be taking the bank, Jo Insung, which means I have no use for a wife beating cheater like you,” Jongin said trying to keep his voice as steady as possible as he spit venom at his brother-in-law. He could probably do that in a literal sense, but he couldn't risk turning Insung.

 

“What does that mean?” Insung asked.

 

Jongin stood and walked over to the side of his brother-in-law's bed. “It means I did not come out of fake respect for our legal relationship. But, I am here for legal matters.” Jongin pulled out the divorce papers and a pen from one of his coat pockets and presented it to Insung.

 

Jo Insung took it with his good arm and read through it before throwing the packet a pathetic distance across his bed landing only at his waist. “What is this crap? A divorce? Over cheating?”

 

“And why not over cheating?” Jongin asked. “That seems perfectly reasonable. And you were caught red handed.”

 

“Hyuna won't agree to it. She's enamored by me,” Jo Insung said.

 

“Is she?” Jongin asked then sighed and picked up the paper looking it over. “She's not asking for any of your family’s shares, only that you return all of the Kim Eun bank's and that you not return to the apartment you lived together in.”

 

“What about my stuff?”

 

“We will kindly allow you to make a list of things you must have and send you whatever else Hyuna will give up,” Jongin answered.

 

“This is bullshit. I demand a lawyer.”

 

Jongin tsked. “Do you really want this to get messy? I really have no patients lately.” Jongin couldn't deal with a divorce case and hunting ghouls. It was too much. He had to get Jo Insung to sign the divorce papers and get this finalized quickly. He didn't know how much longer he could keep up the facade of a dangerous confident young businessman. He had felt that way when he'd first decided to waltz in here all suited up, but the apprehension he'd had about his brother-in-law all these years hadn't just dissipated over night.

 

“I can have a convincing case made against her as well,” Jo Insung threatened.

 

“You'd make up lies?”

 

Insung grinned. “I'd make her confess. She's done worse for me.”

 

Jongin's face hardened and he leaned in close to his brother-in-law, hissing in his face. “You won't dare touch her or get near her, do you understand?”

 

Jo Insung laughed. “Trying to play a good little brother? Or is this your rebellious teenager act all over again? No one will take it seriously. I may be helpless currently, but I could have you running out of here with your tail between your legs, Kim Jongin, if I had the strength to. Don't show me these papers again and don't think just because you've been legalized as your father's heir that you'll get the bank.”

 

Jongin stood up straight and adjusted his tie clearing his throat. Putting on the face wasn't working. He hadn't wanted to resort to this, but Jongin knew he'd have to use his true danger to convince his brother-in-law to become not his brother-in-law. “I believe you.”

 

“If you believe me, then leave.”

 

Jongin shook his head. “No, no, not about the bank. I believed your story about what happened that night, about the monster.”

 

Insung's eyes widened and Jongin saw a million horrors play across them before he looked away. “I was just delusional. It was probably just an animal. I really didn't see well what it was. I was drunk.”

 

“White hair, jewels pierced through thin skin, claws a foot long,” Jongin described and saw the recognition in Jo Insung's face. “It sounds familiar, right?”

 

“It was a nightmare. You shouldn't know about that, only the psychiatrist should.”

 

“Ah, so you have psychiatric records, too. That gives us a point if you want this to get messy.”

 

Jo Insung looked away again. “You're messing with me, get out.”

 

“I'll get revenge on the thing that attacked you,” Jongin said and moved a hand down to place on his brother-in-law's knee. “Just sign those papers and you can be free of the nightmares you still have of that night.”

 

“I don't have nightmares of it,” Jo Insung defended though his eyes were bloodshot and there were dark circles under them.

 

“You were almost torn apart. Teeth biting into your skin, claws scraping at your soft belly. They could have easily torn your innards out.” Jongin trailed his hand from Isnung's knee down his leg and made a slashing motion across his stomach.

 

“Stop,” Insung growled.

 

Jongin removed his hand and put both of them in his pockets. “How could an animal get you so easily from such a high hotel room? Was your window opened? Who opened it?” Jongin looked over to one of the windows in the hospital's room and reached a hand out towards it. “Shall I open that window?”

 

“Don't!” Insung's voice wasn't loud, but it was terrified.

 

Jongin grinned, fangs showing. He didn't let his eyes change, but he let the aura be known and walked towards the window. “I believe you, dear brother-in-law, I do. Will you believe me if I introduce you to a friend of mine?” He walked over to the window and opened it. He poked his head out seeing Lu Han across the way and waited to make sure Lu Han knew which window it was before popping his head back inside the hotel room.

 

“Jongin, close the window,” Insung desperately growled.

 

Instead of doing that, Jongin leaned away from the sill and collected the divorce papers. He placed them on the table beside Insung's bed with the pen and patted them. “You need some fresh air. Besides, I need you to meet a little friend of mine.”

 

“Jongin?”

 

Jongin turned and started for the door.

 

“Jongin. I swear if you don't shut that window...”

 

Jongin smirked

 

“Jongin!”

 

Jongin slammed the door behind him and walked down to where the nurses were. “Could I have a report on my brother-in-law? I'd like to make sure his recovery is going well.”

 

“Since it's his parents paying for everything, we can't give you too many details Mr. Kim Jongin,” one nurse said, grinning and sparkly eyed.

 

“That's fine, whatever you can tell me,” Jongin assured.

 

She gave him a quick rundown of Insung's care then started blabbering about something else by the time the phone rang at the nurse's port. The nurse looked confused after taking the call and turned that look to Jongin after hanging up.

 

“Mr. Jo Insung would like for me to tell you, you left something behind in his room.”

 

Jongin smiled. “Thank you. I'll be sure to collect that.” He turned and headed in the direction of his brother-in-law's door, but by passed it and walked to the elevators on the other side of the floor. He got on and headed down. He walked a half a block from the hospital before another pair of feet matched him.

 

“What did you do to Jo Insung?” Jongin asked.

 

“Nothing,” Lu Han replied wearing a much less flashy version of his usual black hunter clothes, long white hair sticking to his lips and his face. “I just jumped through the window wearing the wig you told me to and started to ask him some questions. He didn't answer me and started to reach for the the call button so I rushed forward. He immediately went for the papers instead, signed them, and flapped them at me while blubbering a bunch of answers.”

 

“Where are the papers?” Jongin asked.

 

Lu Han pulled them out of one of his many pockets inside his trench coat and handed the packet to Jongin. “Here. I think he might have peed himself, too, because it started to smell bad. I only stayed long enough to make sure the signature was correct.”

 

Jongin took the papers and inspected them. “Good. Thanks, Lu Han.”

 

Lu Han made a face. “That was a horrible thing you did. He's probably really traumatized by that attack.”

 

“I know what it's like to be attacked. He should be lucky he wasn't actually eaten.” Jongin rolled his shoulder remembering the feel of having his flesh torn from his arm. It wasn't the same as a weapon slicing straight through him. There was something much more horrific about watching someone devour a piece of you.

 

Lu Han was silent for a moment before speaking again. “I don't disapprove of the tactic, I just didn't expect it from you.”

 

“I'm learning,” Jongin replied. “What answers did you get from him?”

 

“Blonde, American name, wore a lot of jewelry, nice breasts. Apparently, she fucked faster than the brunette,” Lu Han said. “He said some other stuff I didn't care about.”

 

“So it is Jessica,” Jongin said.

 

“It would appear so.”

 

Jongin felt guilty. He hadn't meant for Krystal to ask her sister to do something about Jo Insung, and especially not that, but they had helped him. It didn't make it any easier what he had to do to the ghoul queens or his brother-in-law.

 

“I have to get Hyuna to sign hers then we'll go to the court.”

 

“I'm not going to any court with a white wig on,” Lu Han said and pulled the wig off, trashing it in the first trashcan they passed.

 

Jongin grinned and clutched one edge of the divorce papers tight. He needed to buy a third briefcase.

 

**$**

 

Hyuna added the last line of her name then stamped the divorce papers and sighed. “Was that the last of it?”

 

Jongin put both copies of the papers into a manila folder and tapped them against the desk. “No, that's only the start of it. I managed to get him to agree, but we have to do this as quickly as possible before he has time to dig up anything. We need to get everything filed before he gets out of the hospital. He'll definitely have a lawyer before any final hearing is made, but he did already sign agreements. I'll definitely be there for the final point and if you need me at any time.”

 

“Thank you, Jongin,” Hyuna said and reached out to squeeze Jongin's hand. “I really do appreciate all you're doing. I don't want you to corrupt yourself for me, though. You were so innocent and naïve when I first met you.”

 

Jongin chuckled and laid the file flat on the coffee table in Hyoyeon's apartment. “I have never been innocent. I was in a gang, remember?”

 

“Gangs are child's play.”

 

“They are until something serious happens,” Jongin said and leaned back on the couch. “It's fine. I'm a lot deeper into this power play struggle than you think.”

 

“I wish you didn't have to be,” Hyuna said. “Originally, I wanted to take over the company. Hyoyeon never wanted any part to it, but I wanted it. I looked up to both father and mother. Father was so strong and charismatic. Mother was beautiful and clever.”

 

“They're both not as smart as you think,” Jongin said. “Parents never are.”

 

“They can be very cruel,” Hyuna said. “Anyone given power over anyone can have it  go straight to their head. I don't think I'm ready for that kind of power.” She laid her hand against her stomach and rubbed.

 

“How are you feeling by the way?” Jongin asked.

 

“It's working. I have to take another pill soon and have a checkup. It was nice of your friend to pay for it. It'll keep Insung from tracking me.”

 

“He's not just my friend.”

 

Hyuna frowned, but nodded. “You should be careful who you say that to. Your future wife won't be happy when she finds out either.”

 

Jongin stood and walked over to one of the windows in Hyoyeon's apartment. He stared out of it at Lu Han lounging on a bench across the street. “He is my future wife, but don't worry yourself over it.”

 

“What about his family? His family must be rich and rich families aren't open minded.”

 

“He comes from a very old rich family, but also a very dead one. No one is going to oppose us. Do you have a problem with it, Hyuna?”

 

Hyuna opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, but pressed her lips together and shook her head. “It can't be as bad as getting a divorce and cheating.”

 

“Insung deserved to be divorced and cheated on, you didn't,” Jongin said and walked back to the couch. He picked up the file. “I need to get this filed before the afternoon. I'm sorry I had to wake you up from your nap. Whatever happened, it must have been tiring.”

 

“It's alright. Your lover has a nice hand.”

 

Jongin was about to make his way out when his phone rang. A text from Lu Han. Jongin pocketed his phone with a deep set frown and turned to his sister.

 

“Jongin, is something wrong?”

 

“Hyuna, can I trust you with something?” Jongin asked.

 

“What is it?”

 

Jongin handed over the file to Hyuna. “I need you to file this. It has to be done today. You can't change your mind. You might have gotten a clear on the baby, but you have to get rid of Jo Insung. He's not needed for the bank, for the family, or for you.”

 

“Do you think I won't file them?” Hyuna took the file with shaky hands, but Jongin didn't let it go.

 

“Promise me, Hyuna, promise me you'll take these and get them properly filed,” Jongin insisted.

 

Hyuna pressed her lips again, but then nodded. “I...I'll do it. He'll start hitting me again if I don't.”

 

Jongin finally let go of the file. “Before the courthouse closes,” he reminded before leaving and made haste in getting down to where Lu Han was tucked safely in an alley. “Where did they say Jessica would be?”

 

“Postage office where Zitao's return product was mailed. It was a different girl that picked it up. Yifan's seduction of the brown haired girl that slept with your brother-in-law proved fruitful. She met a girl online who liked Jessica's jewelry and from there they came up with the idea of sleeping with rich married men together for fun. Apparently, she's not the only girl Jessica's used like that. Jessica told her lots of stories, even about married women and male sidekicks. It seems Jessica's the litter maker. The girl gave Yifan the location of a particular cafe where they would meet up at. Yifan and Zitao are scoring that area with Yixing and Minseok and a few werewolves and human decoys. Baekhyun and Jongdae have a bigger group tailing the person who picked up the packages. The other team we have out is in the forest snooping.”

 

“Alright. I'm assuming we're tailing the package girl?” Jongin asked.

 

“Yep,” Lu Han wiped his hands then started climbing the wall of one of the buildings, Jongin following right after him.

 

“Lu Han, is there a way we can get someone to tail my sister. She has to go file the divorce papers.”

 

“Do you think a ghoul will attack her?” Lu Han asked giving Jongin a hand to help climb on top of the building roof.

 

“No, a human. I need her there and back safely.”

 

Lu Han winked. “I already got you covered.”

 

Jongin smiled. “You're the best, now let's catch us a ghoul. How are we going to do that by the way?”

 

“Chains,” Lu Han said. “And venom, just a small enough amount that she won't die right away.”

 

Jongin didn't ask for more details than that. He followed Lu Han until he could sense the werewolf hunter and his lover. They dropped down beside Jongin and Lu Han wearing all black, Jongdae in the tight strappy style of the hunters with an earpiece and Baekhyun in a black leather jacket and pants ensemble.

 

“How is the tracking going?” Lu Han asked.

 

“It's done. I sent a few vampires to follow the girl back,” Jongdae explained, “but she just dropped the package at another mailing place.”

 

“We sent a vampire inside with her to see if they can find the address of the owner to it. There's a small store, but it's under a different name from the one online,” Baekhyun said. “We were going to take most of our group there. The queen has got to be somewhere between there and the cafe at some point today unless both queens are in the underground tunnels of the old hideout.”

 

“Who is at the hideout?” Jongin asked.

 

“Suho's holding down the condominium, so his mentor went out with some older more experienced vampires just to walk the farthest perimeter of the old hideout. They'll smell them if they try to leave.”

 

“So, essentially,” Lu Han said, “we may already have both queens and their horde on lockdown.”

 

“We also have a few vampires spread in the areas where they've been sighted before and at the deli. They cleaned up the deli and the glass before the police could be called,” Jongdae said.

 

“So, we're headed to the store now?”

 

“That's the plan.” Baekhyun began to lead them towards a store in a simplistic area of Seoul where there were mainly workshops and foundries and cheaper houses.

 

Disgustingly sweet perfume. Jongin could smell it heavy before they had even gotten to the front door of the store they were headed to. It was all boarded up, but Jongin could hear someone inside breathing hard as they made their way cautiously to the door. There was a cackle from Jongdae's earpiece, a hurried voice, but before he could relay the message, one of the boarded up windows was ripped open and two hands reached out.

 

“Move!” Jongdae yelled.

 

Lu Han pulled Jongin away. Jongdae did the same for Baekhyun only to be grabbed by the arms and pulled against the frame of the broken window. He started to struggle, but a head of blond popped out and bit into his shoulder. Lu Han rushed forward, a dagger in hand glistening with some kind of poison, and stabbed it into one of the hands holding onto Jongdae. The hands let go with a scream and their head moved back taking a piece of Jongdae's coat and arm with them.

 

“Jongdae!” Baekhyun caught his staggering lover and inspected the wound. It was gushing blood, healing, but not fast enough not to be a bother for at least an hour if not more. Baekhyun hissed and took a step towards the store.

 

“Don't even think about it,” Jongdae groaned. “We need to get away. She could pop out again.”

 

They quickly jumped back from the store just as the figure from before jumped out of the hole she'd made in the boarded up window.

 

“The dog's right, but awful.” Jessica stood outside the store, the sleeves of her shirt ripped and blood running down her mouth, but the rest of her looked fairly normal, she even carried a fair sized purse on a dainty strap. She pulled a piece of Jongdae's sleeve from her lips. “You would have tasted better if you had stayed a vampire, werewolf hunter.”

 

Baekhyun hissed at Jessica. “Is this the ghoul?”

 

“This is the one that attacked my brother-in-law,” Jongin confirmed.

 

“Tch, just when I thought I lost them, here's more.” Jessica turned her head in Jongin's direction and smiled with bloody teeth. “You must be Krystal's pet. She didn't like it much that I tried to eat that brother-in-law of yours. She asked me to deal with him I figured I would just get rid of him. His seed was really strong, though.” Jessica pressed a hand to her stomach. “Not strong enough for a queen though, but I didn't want such a strong seed to go to waste. I got a few bites in. Must say he's the worse tasting human I've ever had.”

 

Jongin hissed this time. He didn't even like Jo Insung, but he would never send someone to kill someone. He hadn't meant for Krystal to do anything, not seriously.

 

Suddenly, Jessica grabbed one shoulder of her dress and tore it then the other. The fabric fell to reveal a beautiful small body littered with piercings. She pulled something out of her purse, a jeweled mask, and clipped it onto her face then dropped the purse as well. Her skin became pale and sickly, and her body became distorted and skin paper thin. Her nails grew. Jongin knew this ghoul. He'd never seen Krystal out and about, but he'd seen this ghoul many times, they all had.

 

“You seem to recognize me,” Jessica said. “It's a shame you didn't that time at the deli. Too much bling, I guess. Or maybe you needed to see me naked.” Jessica suddenly jumped and headed straight for Jongin and Lu Han. Caught off guard, they ran in separate directions. Jessica landed where they had stood and turned in Jongin's direction.

 

“That day we met in an alley with your pretty date, I would have eaten you then. Such a rare type of vampire, so delicious. I wanted your seed and I wanted your meat. Krystal bit me when she found out, such an ugly little sister, but she said both of those were hers. She only agreed to help me make strong ghouls and possible queens if it was with you. She was going to make you her seed  and her feed. Isn't she a strange-AH!”

 

Lu Han had run forward with the dagger again and sliced across Jessica's arm as he made his way past her to be by Jongin's side. He stood in front of Jongin holding the dagger out. “No one is making my Jongin anything.”

 

“Your Jongin?” the ghoul queen asked then laughed. “No wonder she failed. Not only was she sloppy as fuck, you're gay! I can't wait to tell her about this.”

 

“You won't get a chance,” Baekhyun threatened coming closer. Jongdae stayed a bit behind holding some sort of grappling hook crossbow device. Jongin guessed that was what Lu Han had meant by chains.

 

Jessica laughed again. “There's only four of you, and one is an easy kill.”

 

Jongin thought it was a bluff. He had gotten away from Jessica easily before, but perhaps she hadn't been serious or desperate. Desperate animals were always the most dangerous.

 

“There aren't only four,” Jongdae announced. “Why don't you take a better sniff.”

 

The ghoul looked up, sniffing the air. Jongin looked up as well just in time to see twenty grappling hooks com rushing at the ghoul from the other buildings surrounding the small store. Jessica jumped just in time to miss them. Jongdae shot off his and the sharp point of the hook impended itself into her ankle and made her fall short of her jump. More grappling hooks came then a swarm of vampires jumped down and started wrestling the ghoul to the ground.

 

“I thought we lost her,” a voice said from behind.

 

Jongin turned to see Yifan approaching them with Minseok close behind, both dressed like hunters though Minseok didn't wear the trenchcoat and his clothes looked a bit big, maybe borrowed, or borrowed from a certain hunter without asking.

 

“You're losing your touch,” Jongdae said coming up as well, covering his wound with a hand. “We were already here by the time you said you'd seen the ghoul and lost sight of her.”

 

Yifan frowned and started messing around with his own grappling gun. “I haven't been on the field in a while. We got her though.”

 

“What are you going to do with her now?” Jongin asked.

 

“Question her about the horde and where the other queen is,” Yifan said.

 

“And after that?”

 

Minseok placed a hand on Yifan's shoulder to keep him from answering. He smiled at Jongin. “The hunters have a protocol. They'll follow that.”

 

Jongin tried to look towards Lu Han for a clearer answer, but Lu Han wouldn't meet his eyes. The ghoul queen suddenly screamed and Jongin turned to see some of the vampires pushing syringes into her arms as they continued to tie her down.

 

“She sure is making a lot of noise, and it's day time,” Jongin pointed out.

 

“We have a glamor expert with us. We barely managed to get them in on time,” Yifan said and pointed up.

 

Jongin looked up, but barely caught of a glimpse of someone in a white hoodie. “That's not...”

 

“It's not him,” Lu Han reassured. “I don't know who it is, maybe a brother.”

 

Jongin nodded. Then sighed. “Taemin's going to be pissed when he hears about this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated.


	21. Misere Nobis

**21. _Misere Nobis_**

  
  


    “I'm pissed!” Taemin yelled from the other line.

 

Jongin pulled his phone away from his ear and grimaced before bringing it back. “Taemin, it's not like I was going to ask you to help. You're busy right now. I can't afford you getting hurt.”

 

“You're right, you can't afford that, not even the gold in the vampire vaults wherever they are could. But, you should have at least asked me to help. I could have sent someone,” Taemin complained.

 

“We have a fairy,” Jongin confirmed. “They may be your family, I don't know. Besides, you've been in Japan all week. I half expected you to not even pick up.”

 

“Sorry I'm busy.”

 

Jongn sighed and put the phone in the crook of his shoulder and his ear as he finished pulling on the joggers he'd been handed at the condos after taking Jessica down to the gym arena. Lu Han had thought it would be better for him to get out of the whole suit attire if he planned to get dirty tracking down Krystal and the rest of the ghouls. “It's fine if you're busy, Taemin. I want you to be happy and your work makes you happy.”

 

“I know, just, I'm going to be worried about you. I saw you try and fight one ghoul already and that was only a normal ghoul protecting its area. I can't protect you again.”

 

“We've already caught one queen, and I'm not alone this time. Just take it easy in Japan, I'll call you back tomorrow,” Jongin promised.

 

“You better,” Taemin warned. “Be careful.”

 

“I will.” Jongin hung up and threw the phone on the bed of the room he had borrowed to change in. He'd been told it was Sehun's and Chanyeol's condo and these were Sehun's clothes as they were a similar size. Jongin adjusted the loose tank top then grabbed a black hooded jacket from the bed to slip on.

 

“You ready to go?” Lu Han asked coming into the room still in his hunter outfit.

 

“Yeah. How is all that leather more comfortable than a suit?” he asked coming up to stand beside the hunter.

 

“It's not about comfort. We can lose the trench coat if we have to, but we don't want to risk our clothes getting caught on branches. They have to be skin tight. They're all custom made. Zitao's is more like a policeman's uniform and Yifan's is more tailored. We don't have time to talk about clothes right now.” Lu Han handed Jongin a cap and he put it on, hiding most of his white hair.

 

They walked out of the room and headed to the elevator. Jessica had been taken down to one of the many rooms Jongin had seen when practicing his fighting skills down in Suho's dungeon gym. Lu Han had disappeared with the other hunters and a few older vampires to question her and Jongin guessed other things. They had eventually gotten her to spill about the location of her horde and her sister. Narsha had been right. They were using the now empty hideout just outside Seoul. Lu Han hadn't wanted to let Jongin go with him at first, but Jongin had to at least see the horror for himself. This life, the longer he lived it, the more unreal it seemed. Jongin had thought he was a monster, but there were real monsters and Jongin wanted to see these real monsters, see if they even were monsters. Krystal had never seemed like one, just a girl that wanted to be free.

 

There was a bus waiting outside for them. Many of the vampires had already left via other methods as to not cause a stir. Yifan had gone first with the fairy and the other hunters to rendezvous with the vampires already on the perimeter of the hideout and come up with an attack strategy. Jongin sat quietly on the bus holding Lu Han's hand, not as a measure of comfort, but to have something to do. The closer they got the the forest where the hideout was, the more useless he felt. He didn't have hundreds of years fighting like Suho and Yifan or Narsha and her family. Even Lu Han had been in a war.

 

“Can I have a weapon?” Jongin asked turning to Lu Han when the bus stopped somewhere in the dark woods. They hadn't left until nightfall. Catching Jessica had been time sensitive, but to catch a whole horde required strategy. It would be less likely for normal humans to find them at night.

 

“You are the weapon,” Lu Han said. He squeezed Jongin's hand tight.

 

Jongin let his nails grow longer and sharper, but wasn't convinced. “Maybe I should have stayed back.”

 

“I told you to.”

 

“But you weren't going to stay with me,” Jongin argued.

 

“No, this is my job.”

 

“It's my job, too, then.”

 

Lu Han stood, hand slipping from Jongin's. “It doesn't have to be. Not all vampires fight, Jongin. Occasionally, they'll do some intelligence work, but mostly they live in luxury.”

 

Jongin didn't get up right away even as the other vampires got off the bus. “Krystal. She's my fault. She wanted to eat me. All those people that died, it was because I didn't smell her. I should have known with all that garlic. That girl, I made her suffer, but she couldn't even enjoy the benefits after all that pain.”

 

“Jongin,” Lu Han called.

 

He turned his head and looked up at the hunter.

 

Lu Han reached into his coat and pulled out a dagger just the length of Jongin's elbow to his middle finger with a serrated edge. Jongin took it and examined the hilt. It was definitely a new weapon, decorated simply with lines and geometric patterns and a modern but workable shape to the hilt.

 

“Thanks,” he said.

 

Lu Han handed him a holder for it and started down the bus aisle. “Let's go, Jongin.”

 

Jongin followed the hunter out into the woods. He didn't remember the trees being this eerie the last time he had come to the vampire hideout. He could barely hear the noise of the city not far away. Their feet crushed against dead twigs and grass. Some of the spring trees had already began growing their leaves. Lu Han was much more silent, basically tip toeing in the heels he wore, like pin needle sharp knives of their own. The other vampires had gone in different directions, but they eventually met up with a few of them and Zitao in a dense part of the woods.

 

“We were about to go on ahead,” Zitao said. He seemed to be standing on something. They had cleared an area by a tree down to its roots. There was a large circular door beneath the tree with intricate patterns.

 

Lu Han came to stand beside Zitao and stomped a heel against the door. “This is the older one.”

 

“The newer entrance was the one the ghouls found already. We didn't want to risk it.”

 

“And that one is so much better hidden.” Lu Han walked off and felt around the edge of the door touching three holes on one side. “We don't have a key.”

 

“We'd have to go all the way to Australia to get it.” Zitao suddenly pulled a gun out of one of the pockets from the bullet proof vest he wore.

 

“That only works in movies,” Lu Han said.

 

“Just stand back. Sehun made this for me. With all the other weapons he’s made, you’d think he knew what he was doing,” Zitao said.

 

Everyone moved back and Zitao shot the gun at one hole. A bullet came out, small, and fell perfectly into place. Zitao shot two more bullets then brought out three long needles. He poked them into the holes, moved them around. Each one clicked and Zitao pulled the bullets back out, melted onto the needles in the shape of the key that would have gone in. Once they were all removed, Zitao lifted the lid.

 

Jongin covered his nose. It reeked of dirt and death. Vampires started to file in, first Zitao, leading, then the rest. Lu Han and Jongin jumped in last. The tunnel was just as Jongin would have imagined, but much darker and much plainer, but even more chilling. This was a real tunnel with real bugs and real dirt. There were tons of branches holding the tunnel together with some wood beams and stone or brick fixtures here and there. It was definitely old. Almost ten small clumps of dirt had fallen on Jongin in the first few minutes of walking in the darkness, though it was hardly dark to him. He did have to stir Lu Han a few times. Eventually, they came to a fork.

 

“Group A, to the left. E, to the right. Everyone else in between, go accordingly from left to right,” Zitao ordered from the front of the line. “Straight is mine.”

 

“Which group are we?” Jongin asked.

 

“We're with Zitao. Straight gets you to the hideout faster. If the horde runs, which they're unlikely to, they'll be in a frenzy. It'll be easier for the less experienced vampires to get them that way.”

 

“I'm the least experienced vampire,” Jongin pointed out.

 

“That's true, but there's a reason Suho allowed you to come but not Kyungsoo. Narsha may have had her say in it as well, but you're strong, Jongin. And, maybe...maybe Krystal will listen to you.”

 

Jongin frowned. He doubted Krystal would listen to him even if he hoped it, but even more, he doubted he was as strong as everyone seemed to think he was. He wanted to be strong, but it wasn't like Sehun, Chanyeol, or even Minseok were going all out when they trained with him. The only one who went all out was Kyungsoo, but that wasn't a physical fight.

 

They followed Zitao down the front passageway. It was probably the best kept area of the tunnels, but it began to feel like a maze. They passed other passageways that connected with the ones the other vampires took, some boarded up, some boarded up and then torn down. Those ones smelled the strongest of ghoul. Jongin's blood turned to ice every time he got a scent of them. They were going to find one soon, Jongin could feel it. He'd expected it the moment they'd jumped down.

 

“Jongin.”

 

“Yes?” Jongin asked looking towards Zitao. He was so use to seeing the newest member of the hunters tapping away at a laptop, not dressed like a SWAT team member with murder in his eyes. He never realized how scary he could be. Lu Han could be that way as well. He knew Lu Han was impressive, but scary, Jongin couldn't think that. He hadn't thought Krystal was scary either.

 

“Cut yourself, Jongin.”

 

Jongin raised a brow. “What?”

 

“They're here, but they're not attacking,” Zitao said. “They were given orders.”

 

Orders? Jongin took out the dagger Lu Han had given him and pricked his thumb with it hard enough that blood came out. There was a rumble in the earth then a stillness that had Jongin holding his breath. He looked up and caught Lu Han's eye as if to ask what was going on. He was afraid of talking. Lu Han seemed confused as well before his eyes lit up and Jongin knew. He jumped back just as a ghoul suddenly jumped through the dirt of the tunnel's floor.

 

“Freaking fuck, where'd he come from?” Jongin yelled.

 

The ghoul was ugly and glittered with just as many piercings as Jessica. It had a simple mask on it's face that it immediately ripped off and screamed at Jongin. He didn’t recognize the ghoul. It’s face was misshapen on the side the mask had mostly covered and the other half was as generic as a face could get. Jongin put the dagger back and brought out his claws, hissing back. Before the ghoul could jump at Jongin, giant holes appeared in it's body. It fell forward screaming in agony as the holes healed up. Zitao rushed forward and shoved a hand through one hole, fingers first, then hand as the bullet wound stretched, breaking ribs with his fist. Then he pulled his hand back and held in it the ghoul's beating, infected, looking heart. He threw the heart towards Lu Han. It landed at the other hunters feet and Lu Han lifted a stiletto heel and brought it down piercing the heart. The ghoul cried more. It's body was still trying to heal even without a heart, but it's blood would stop flowing soon.

 

“Bite it,” Zitao commanded. “Put it out of its misery quickly.”

 

Jongin made a face. “I'd really rather not.”

 

Lu Han pulled Zitao away. “Don't make him taste this garbage.” He knelt down by the agonized ghoul and pulled out a syringe, injecting half of it into the creature.

 

“You're wasting resources. We've got a vampire right here,” Zitao complained.

 

“Technically, we have three vampires. You could just go drink human blood and bite it yourself,” Lu Han said.

 

Zitao pressed his lips together and looked away not arguing anymore.

 

Lu Han stood and wiped his hands. He turned and started walking. Jongin jumped over the dying ghoul and hurried after him. “Wait up.”

 

“Really, what is that girl thinking? It takes normal ghouls so much effort to understand simple orders. She must have told them to only attack the smell of vampire blood. They’re going to be twice as hostile having to fight the urge to not attack just anyone in their borders.”

 

“She probably doesn't even know hunters exist,” Zitao said walking behind them. “I knew there was something wrong when we came this far and nothing had popped out at us.”

 

“Has nothing fought the other vampires?” Jongin asked. He was with two hunters and they had weapons that weren't connected to their bodies. Were the other vampires okay with just claws and teeth?

 

“I haven't heard anything yet,” Zitao said just as a scream came from another tunnel and then another.

 

“I think they caught on,” Lu Han said.

 

Zitao took a step back. “That last one sounded close. Onion's in group B, they're right beside us.”

 

“Who is Onion?” Jongin asked.

 

“Zitao's apprentice.”

 

“I thought he only worried about Yixing.”

 

“Yixing is leading a surface group,” Lu Han said then turned to Zitao. “Don't worry about him. He's been a vampire for forty years.”

 

“I just...it's his first time fighting ghouls.” Zitao started to take a few steps more back to the last intersecting tunnel they'd come across.

 

Lu Han clicked his tongue and walked towards Zitao. “Stop this, Zitao, you're suppose to be leading. You were an actual martial artist, not just a trained soldier. We need you to fight the queen.”

 

Jongin felt apprehensive the farther Lu Han got away from him. “Can we hurry. There's kind of a dead ghoul close by and don't ghouls eat dead things? I mean, I know you said they had orders, but a corpse is a corpse.”

 

Lu Han turned half way between Zitao and Jongin. “What are you talking about? Ghouls don't eat ghouls. Usually, the closest ghoul just comes and takes over the dead ghoul's area...oh.”

 

Just as the realization hit, another ghoul popped out of one of the side walls of the tunnels taking down a few bricks with it as it bulldozed Lu Han into the opposite wall. Jongin started to help Lu Han who was holding the ghoul off with two short swords when he saw another glint coming at them from the other end behind Zitao. The newer hunter didn't seem to notice, caught off guard by the bulldozing ghoul.

 

“Watch out,” Jongin yelled. He pulled out the dagger and threw it. The ghoul screamed and the noise caught Zitao's attention. He turned and pulled out one of his guns, shooting at the ghoul. Jongin moved to help Lu Han with his, giving in to biting the creature, distracting it enough so Lu Han could get a shot at one clawed hand and then another and Jongin copied what he'd seen Zitao do, jamming his sharp nails into the back of the ghoul and crushing its bones with the shear force before pulling out its heart. He let Lu Han stomp on it again and they started running with Zitao close behind.

 

“Your dagger,” Zitao said, handing the bloody blade off to Jongin. “You have some fucking luck. You barely managed to get it in its arm. Thanks though.”

 

“I played darts when I was in a gang,” Jongin said. He didn't bother to add that he'd never actually won a game.

 

**$**

 

By the time they had reached the end of their tunnel, they had killed five more ghouls. Jongin felt bad wiping the blood off his dagger and onto Sehun's joggers. The vampire probably wished he was here fighting, but Chanyeol and Sehun were guards and still down in the basement gym guarding whatever there was still to guard down there. The tunnel's end was blocked by cemented rocks and boards. Zitao moved forward and peeked between one of the openings in the boards and looked into the cellar that led up to one of the houses of the vampire's burned hideout. Zitao stood there a good minute before he jumped back just as a ghoul jumped onto the wall. The sound of its nails digging at the cement was unsettling. Finally, it broke through one of the wooden boards instead and started pulling on that. It poked its head in and screamed. Zitao drew one of his guns and shot it straight through the head. The bullet was large and left a nasty wound. The ghoul immediately slumped over and another ghoul took its place. Zitao shot that one as well.

 

“Get ready,” Lu Han said. “This is where the real fight begins.”

 

“I'm guessing this is an inherited horde,” Zitao said. “Each team has killed no less than five and the above team have seen five more at least circling the perimeter and there's another three left to shoot in here.”

 

“And probably more in the houses surrounding whichever one Krystal is in,” Lu Han added and brought out different weapons, long double bladed daggers.

 

Jongin could hear a growl from the other side and held his own dagger tight in one hand. Zitao moved forward and kicked  one of the wooden boards enough that they could slink through. A ghoul came at him, he shot it and Lu Han went through immediately going after the fallen ghoul. Jongin stumbled his way through and came face to face with a ghoul of his own. He reacted quickly, shoving his hand into it's chest with his right hand and stabbing it in the head with his left. When it fell, he bit it.

 

“These things are so gross. Does medicine work for vampire stomachaches?”

 

“Nope,” Lu Han said getting stab happy with the last ghoul in the cellar. “I'll let you drink my blood when we're done here.”

 

“I'm not going to have an appetite for even that.”

 

“Let's go,” Zitao said and pulled down a set of dusty stairs from the roof.

 

Jongin didn't bother using them, he jumped into the opening and looked around. They were in one of the most burnt buildings. It looked like a kitchen. Lu Han and Zitao joined him and they stood as a triad catching their breath. It hadn't been necessarily difficult to fight the ghouls physically. But, the mental stress of having to keep up with their quick legs and sharp claws was enough to make Jongin wish he did sweat so he could wipe it off. Instead, his skin just glowed more which attracted a ghoul. It jumped straight through one of the glass windows that were still intact. It's paper thin skin was nicked but healed. Jongin didn't move. He kept an eye on the ghoul's strong thighs, watching every twitch and held his dagger at the ready. The ghoul landed with its stomach skewered on Jongin's dagger. Jongin used his other hand to grab the ghoul's tattered mask from its face. It tore off part of the skin where it had been adhered to and Jongin threw it across the room. The ghoul tried to go after its mask, but it was still stuck on Jongin's dagger. Jongin pulled the dagger out and as the ghoul turned away from him, he brought the dagger into the back of its head. When it fell, Jongin added a few more blows to its head until it stopped moving. He rolled his eyes as he bit its arm then hurried to follow Lu Han and Zitao who had gone after another ghoul while Jongin was fighting.

 

Outside of the building, Jongin could see more vampires fighting ghouls. There were many vampires with blood and tears in their clothes. He saw Jongdae and Baekhyun off to one side fighting their own group of ghouls. In another corner was Yixing and they followed Zitao in his direction. The vampire seemed to be lighting what appeared to be dead ghouls on fire. One of them jumped up, screaming, and Zitao shot it.

 

“You guys are here,” Yixing said being pulled into Zitao's arms for a short hug.

 

“Xing Xing~ Where's the queen?” Zitao asked.

 

Yixing gestured towards the largest building. “She holed herself up in there. Ghouls just keep piling out of it. They're all strong ghouls. She left the litters on the surface and in the surrounding areas.”

 

“There were smart ones in the tunnels,” Zitao said. “They were sleeping in the dirt until they smelled vampire blood.”

 

“That's an odd order,” Yixing commented and started lighting bodies on fire again. “She must not know hunters exist, but she does now. Yifan got inside with Minseok and some others.”

 

“Let's go,” Lu Han said and grabbed Jongin's arm. “Zitao, you can stay here if you'd like. There's going to be a load of them coming out in a second.”

 

“Sounds good,” Zitao agreed. “I’ll go team up with the apprentices Onion is leading.”

 

As they pushed their way through the fighting vampires and ghouls, Lu Han pressed something into Jongin's hand. It was a bottle of yellow liquid.

 

“Venom,” Lu Han explained. “You won't have time to bite ghouls in there, you don't know how to do it fast enough and you don't need to. Just spray any wounds with this.”

 

Jongin took the bottle and nodded. They hurried to the large building.

 

“Follow me,” Lu Han said and jumped onto the roof avoiding the flood of ghouls rushing out of the door.

 

Jongin joined him and they found a hole in the roof to jump down in straight on top of a ghoul. Lu Han took both of his dagger and crossed them as he sliced chopping the ghoul's head off in one clean swoop. Jongin sprayed the stump left behind and looked around. There were more ghouls, but they were mainly trying to rush out of the building. Some of the bulkier ghouls were caught up in grappling hooks and, looking up, Jongin could see some of the vampires the hunters had handed the crossbow machines to, perched on the pillars above. They were in a great hall. Yifan and Minseok were in the middle fighting off the ghouls that were still sane enough to stay.

 

“Where's the queen?” Lu Han yelled to them.

 

Yifan sliced straight through a ghoul with a huge sword before looking over to them. “She's here somewhere. I was fighting her, but she set her guards on us. She has a red scarf thing, like a dress.”

 

Jongin looked around. All he saw were ugly pierced up ghouls with uglier masks. The only red was blood. Then he saw it, headed out the door, and immediately ran.

 

“Jongin, wait!”

 

He didn't wait. Krystal was his in a way. It was he she wanted to eat, he she wanted to mate, and he she changed. It might have been Kyungsoo that bit Jongin and Narsha that birthed him, but Krystal gave him a job. They didn't really talk, they weren't even really friends, but Jongin had thought they had an understanding for so long. He saw what he would become in her and then he changed course. She was a free spirit, or at least had been, but here she was, brought back by duty, by what she was, and maybe it didn't suit her like it had Jongin, but the Krystal Jongin knew would understand, right? He wanted Krystal to be free again. Were ghouls really monsters if flesh was the only thing she could eat?

 

Jongin tracked Krystal to the edge of the border where her patrol ghouls had already been slain. She was wrapped in a very see through very red single sheath of fabric that was held up by a collar at her neck and she had a mask, simple, but as ordained as her sister's. She didn't have piercings, at least not where Jongin could see, but she was still decorated in sparkling things. She would have been breath taking if she was in her other form, but she looked more like a banshee with her gray skin and white hair. She stood there looking over her dead horde then slowly turned to the approaching Jongin.

 

“Stop there, Jongin. You've already cornered me. Won't you let me go?”

 

Jongin did stop, but he kept his blade out. “Your horde is still here.”

 

“My sister's horde. I've only birthed two litters when I was very young. Those are her children and my mother's children. My uncles and brothers. Ugly, aren't they? But, we're beautiful. Would you like to see?” Krystal moved a hand to her mask and let it drop. Other than the milkiness of her eyes and her terrifying mouth, Krystal did still look like Krystal. That was why the masks were so important to the queens.

 

“You're Krystal,” Jongin said.

 

“Yes, that is true. But, I'm a ghoul.”

 

“And I'm a vampire.” Jongin held up his dagger. “If I let you free, will you not hunt humans or vampires again?”

 

“I will,” Krystal said. “How else am I to live? I've tried, but I have no taste for anything else. And I can't eat dead things like the horde, but even then, I have to feed them.”

 

“You won't have a horde. I'll cut out those parts,” Jongin said.

 

“Oh, what a horrible idea,” Krystal said dryly. “They won't regenerate like yours does. Maybe I should have eaten that, but you had such bad timing.”

 

“Krystal, please,” Jongin said.

 

“I still want to eat you, Jongin, but I have to go now.” Krystal turned and jumped, but her leg was suddenly grabbed by a hook as she fell to the earth. She stood and swung her head around. Jongin did as well. Lu Han appeared out of the trees and wrapped the crossbow he'd used around a tree to secure Krystal in place. She started digging at her ankle as Lu Han approached. Lu Han circled her twirling his pair of double bladed daggers in his hands.

 

“How do you want to die, queen? I can cut your head off here, or we could let the fairy eat you alive while you suffocate and burn from poison. Or do you want something different? We could just finish off the horde and take you with us, let the vampires do what they will with you like they did to your sister.”

 

“Jessica,” Krystal hissed. “You will pay for that you human vampire.”

 

“The term is, Monster Hunter and you,” Lu Han said pointing one of the daggers at Krystal, “you are a true monster. You might have intelligence, but you still only think about fucking and eating. I must say, opening a shop was a great idea, but ultimately, you're still only interested in flesh.”

 

Krystal chuckled. “That's all I'm interested. My sister had the dreams. I just want to fuck men and eat them. You're right I don't know any other feeling, but I'll show you what it's like, hunter, at least the eating part.”

 

Suddenly, Krystal got lose and lunged for Lu Han. Jongin rushed forward and circled around them as Lu Han fought off the queen ghoul with his blades. It was like watching one of his dances, but Krystal was not just any ghoul. Her claws were long and she was faster. She was smarter. Krystal had nothing to lose.

 

Lu Han managed a clean cut across Krystal's midriff tearing the scarf like fabric and jumped back. He dug in his pocket for venom. Jongin jumped in to distract Krystal.

 

“Shit, I dropped it,” he heard Lu Han mutter.

 

Jongin couldn’t block without fancy swords like Lu Han. The dagger could only hold off one claw and Krystal knew how to swing both of her heavy ones at him. They were sharp. She'd backed him up into a tree. It wasn't as easy to get to her heart. He didn't really want to. He didn't want to. Suddenly, the wind was knocked out of him as Krystal got him with a backhand swing and he went flying into another tree. Jongin felt dizzy for a second and shook himself. He felt a pain in one leg. It was twisted in an odd angle and he forced it to set right as it began to heal. He looked over at Lu Han. The hunter had dropped a dagger and was fighting off the ghoul queen's claws with only one while trying to search for another weapon with his free hand. He kept hitting the same spot, probably where he usually kept the dagger he had lent Jongin. The queen caught Lu Han with the same back hand, though not as hard. He fell only a few yards away from her, but Jongin could see he was a mess. He'd landed on a shoulder. It would take an hour before it healed if Jongin's mangled leg still wasn't healed after only a minute. But, Jongin limped his way as fast as he could towards Lu Han.

 

“I'm not even going to eat you,” Krystal said. “This hunter will just be corpse food for the birds.” She raised a claw at Lu Han. He managed to roll away from the first swipe, but Jongin could see the pain on his face.

 

“Lu Han!” Jongin yelled as he moved between the ghoul queen and the hunter.

 

The yell caused Krystal to falter for a moment with her first swing, but the second came up and under and Jongin wasn't prepared to block from that angle. His dagger barely scratched one of her claws as the other one pierced straight through him. It just barely missed his heart. Jongin gasped then coughed up blood all over the ghoul's face. At first, horror seemed to play in Krystal's milky eyes then she began to laugh.

 

“Amatuer,” she growled at Jongin and tried to throw him off.

 

Jongin grabbed onto the claw piercing him and moved so it went deeper. It hurt like hell, but Jongin didn't think it was as bad as getting stabbed in the heart.

 

“Jongin, stop!” Lu Han yelled behind him. “Jongin!”

 

“Get off!” Krystal screamed and brought her other claw up as if to tear him away. Lu Han was quick to block it. Jongin could hear him grunting with the effort.

 

Jongin laughed and stared at Krystal intently. “You were such a pretty girl, Krystal. Now, the only thing pretty about you is your face.”

 

The ghoul didn't seem to understand what Jongin was saying.

 

Jongin didn't care anymore. It hurt too much. He suddenly pushed himself forward on the claw more, opened his mouth, and dug his teeth into Krystal's face.

 

The ghoul queen screamed and fell back.

 

Lu Han pulled Jongin off her claw and dragged them away. The hunter removed his trench coat as best he could with his tender shoulder and cut along his arm, presenting the line of blood to Jongin. “Drink, Jongin, hurry. That wound's not good.”

 

Jongin tried to mutter something about how they weren’t done fighting the ghoul yet, but then Lu Han pressed his arm to Jongin's lips. He barely remembered seeing Yifan and a few other vampires rushing towards them chasing the last few ghouls through the forest. He could hear grappling hooks being fired and the queen screaming along with her last brethren, but he closed his eyes and closed all of that out only taking in the taste of Lu Han's blood and how it slowly helped to dull the pain that was the literal hole in his stomach.

 

**$**

 

“Sit still, Jongin,” Lu Han said for the millionth time since they had gotten back to the condos.

 

Jongin tried to swat the hunter's hands away from prodding at his now closed stomach wound. “I'm fine, I'm fine, leave it be now.”

 

Lu Han sat back on the bed where they had been taken to help with Jongin's wound and fumed silently with crossed arms and a hard glare. “You're not fine, you're stupid Kim Jongin.”

 

Jongin thought Lu Han cute. He was worrying over him so much. He had good reason though. Jongin's wound had gone from being torn up to just bruising. It did hurt to move somewhat, but he was sure, in another hour or two, it would only be ghost pains. “And who's idea was it to give me a dagger they relied on heavily in battle?”

 

“I...” Lu Han looked away. “I just wanted you to be safe. I knew that dagger worked well. If I had remembered I'd given it to you, I would have been fine. It...it was my fault. If only I hadn’t dropped that vial.”

 

Jongin reached out for Lu Han and brought him to lay down on the bed with him. “I'm the one who shoved her claw further into my stomach. I just wanted to protect you, Lu Han. If you had been stabbed, you might have died. You would have still been bleeding. And I'm not human nor do I carry human blood with me. I couldn't have turned you.”

 

“I carry it with me,” Lu Han said and tugged on the single earring he wore on his left earlobe. “I only need a drop.”

 

Jongin nodded and reached a hand up to touch the lobe then trailed it down Lu Han's neck. “I know, but you really don't have to baby me. I'll just be sore for a little while. Getting stabbed in the heart was worse.”

 

Lu Han shoved Jongin's shoulder. “Don't bring up your other stupid antic. I'm going to be so stressed with such a troublemaking lover.”

 

Jongin laughed and leaned his head towards Lu Han's in a deep quick kiss. He placed their heads together and took in his lover's scent. “You won't leave me because I'm a troublemaker, right?”

 

Lu Han shook his head. “Never.”

 

They kissed again, softly. Jongin nipped Lu Han's bottom lip and sucked the blood that trickled out in slow dull motions. He had actually lost consciousness for a moment, perhaps from getting knocked into the tree, a side effect coming late, or just a pure rush of blood lost. It was only for a minute and he was awake again, his wounds trying to close and Lu Han helped him to his feet as they watched the rush of the horde trying to defend their last queen as she was tied up in steel ropes too hard to break, venom coursing through her veins. They left with the vehicle that took Krystal along with other badly injured vampires and Yifan who was being helped by Minseok with a badly broken arm worse than Lu Han's. They'd taken Krystal down to the gym and Lu Han rushed Jongin up to a spare room before they could know what would become of Krystal.

 

Jongin pulled away and stroked Lu Han's face, the other's eyes closed and fluttering softly. He moved his hand down Lu Han's chin and neck and over to his shoulder and pressed. The hunter winced then looked up and glared at Jongin.

 

“You're trying to nurse me when you should be nursing yourself. How's your arm?” Jongin asked.

 

Lu Han pulled away just a bit and rolled his shoulder. “Still sprained, but I can move it now. I'll have to be careful of it for a day or two. This is a typical injury. Yours isn't.”

 

Jongin sighed and relented. “Fine, fine, play nurse...can you actually play nurse though. It's been awhile since we...you know.”

 

Lu Han sat up and moved so he was saddling Jongin's waist, careful of his stomach. He grinned down at Jongin and softly raked his nails down Jongin's bare chest and the couple of bandages Lu Han had managed to get on him then played with the drawstrings of Sehun's joggers. He grinned at Jongin and leaned forward to whisper, “We could, but not here.”

 

Jongin leaned up and pecked Lu Han quickly, wanting more, when someone cleared their throat. He had felt them, but hoped they would just leave. He was starting to suspect that Narsha had no notion of privacy when it came to other people.

 

“Can we help you?” Jongin asked.

 

“Sorry to break up your little affair,” Narsha said and waved her fingers at them.

 

Lu Han seemed embarrassed being caught by his mentor and the true mother of his lover, but Jongin kept a firm hold of Lu Han's thighs to keep him in place.

 

“And you are, why?” Jongin asked. He felt he was talking a bit terse to a figure he should be talking more respectfully to, but Narsha didn't seem to mind.

 

Narsha grinned. “It's unfortunate that I didn't get to come along to fight the ghouls. My brother demanded I stay here if he was going to go out. He said it wasn't important enough or quick enough for my expertise. Lu Han did learn his assassin techniques from me and we don't use horses anymore. I was good on a horse. I should try learning to ride a motorcycle I suppose, but I'm rambling. The point is, I saw your ghoul queen, your ex-boss. They haven't done anything to her yet. They want to make sure all the ghouls are killed first. Would you like to talk to her for a bit?”

 

Jongin sat up immediately. Lu Han looked between him and his mother then climbed off so Jongin could stand up completely from the bed. He looked at Lu Han. The hunter nodded. He stood straighter, it made his body ache a bit, but he stood and walked up to Narsha.

 

“I would like to speak with her once, alone, if I can. She can't get loose, right?”

 

Narsha sighed and took Jongin's arm in hers as she led him out. “You're the one that bit her.”

 

They took the elevator straight down to the basement. Narsha left him at the platform and Jongin jumped down and walked to the doors where Chanyeol and Sehun were standing guard. Both of them glanced at Jongin, but didn't budge.

 

“Narsha said I could speak with her,” Jongin said.

 

“You got blood on my pants, the ghoul tore a hole in my favorite tank top, and who knows where Lu Han threw my jacket, that was Chanyeol's jacket. I stole that from him,” Sehun said, voice monotone, but Jongin could detect the true bitterness in his eyes.

 

Chanyeol's face had been stern up until the last comment. He turned to face his lover counterpart with a raised brow. “Is that where that jacket went?”

 

Sehun turned to Chanyeol and grinned. “I had plans for that jacket, but those plans work better on you.”

 

Jongin made a face glad the jacket was gone, but wishing he hadn't worn it. “I'll...take you shopping or something in return.”

 

The two towers peaked at Jongin then looked back at each other and nodded.

 

“Buy us food, too,” Chanyeol said. “I want to eat street food.”

 

“I want bubble tea,” Sehun added.

 

Jongin sighed. “Sure, we'll hang out together. Make a day of it.”

 

Both vampires took one large step away from the door, walking onto raised tiles just an inch from the floor that lowered with their weight and made a clicking sound. Jongin walked up to the door and pushed. The door was heavy, but Jongin could move it with a bit of effort. Inside, it was dark except one red light that shone bright on a tied up figure's face. Jongin could see in the dark corners guards with guns and more grappling hooks at the ready. He ignored them and moved closer. The figure in the middle twitched then turned their head and looked at Jongin.

 

Krystal. It was the Krystal Jongin remembered, but worse for wear. He could see the scars on her body now from fighting, the places that he could see as she was chained up like some sort of animal. Her arms were behind her backs wrapped tight in a difficult pattern with metal ropes as well as were her ankles. They used the necklace she had used to hold up the red strip of fabric that made up a makeshift dress as a collar and had multiple lines tethered to poles to keep her from going too far. Like a dog. Like a rabid dog.

 

Jongin didn't approve, but the ache in his stomach told him why she was like this.

 

“Jongin,” she slurred.

 

“Krystal,” Jongin said.

 

Krystal laughed. “That's not even my real name. Ghouls don't have names. We're just Queens.”

 

“It didn't have to be like this,” Jongin said.

 

Krystal laughed, but it only caused her to heave and cough. Jongin could see the skin around her veins growing yellow particularly where he'd bitten her in the face, the bite marks festering. He'd done this. He'd poisoned her.

 

“You want me to go vegetarian? I can't taste food, Jongin. If I could...hah...maybe that deli would have actually made it. My sister, she knew what she wanted and she knew how to make it happen. I just ran, I ran and tried to be human, but I can't be. We're not like fairies, Jongin. We can't evolve. We've tried. They only get stronger, not smarter. If the horde didn't need the queen, they could live alright. They can eat dead things. Queens can't and a horde can't be without their queen. We're pitiful. Humans have so much self-awareness. How can we get away with stealing one here and there? We can't.”

 

“I wish...” Jongin started.

 

“You wish I was human?” Krystal asked.

 

Jongin reached out, but didn't touch her. “We could have been friends.”

 

Krystal shook her head weakly. “No, Jongin, no. We wouldn't have been friends. I thought I was doing alright until I met you, Jongin. If I slept with lots of men and took nibbles from them here and there, I could survive. In exchange for my body, I could get money and a small bite. It worked. I don't mind sex, Jongin. But, I saw you and I smelt you and I wanted all of you. Ghoul instincts told me you had strong seed and strong meat. As a ghoul I tried to seduce you and as a human I would have seduced you. For a second, I almost thought I was in love with you.”

 

Jongin stared at Krystal surprised for a moment. Her eyes were brown and soft, but pained as they looked at him, almost hopeful. She must have wished she could be human and it was sad. Jongin sighed and lowered his hand. He shook his head at her. “No, no you wouldn't.”

 

“You only say that because you've seen me at my dirtiest. You always came in at the wrong moments,” Krystal said annoyed.

 

Had she been flirting with him? Jongin thought he use to understand that, but the women he slept with always made it clear they were trying to fuck him. The short dress and heals, the trust with the deli, and offering him a job and paying more than she actually made, was that her way of flirting? Jongin wasn't sure. He'd completely missed it. “No, I say it because I'm gay.”

 

Krystal's eyes widened then glazed over. Her dark hair reverted back to white and her body shifted, the ropes tightening around her body as the guards pulled the lines to keep her new shape in place. She lowered her head and didn't look at Jongin.

 

“Fuck,” she said.

 

Jongin wasn't sure what to say to that. She looked so dejected. This whole thing was all for not in her eyes. The vampire she had wanted, that had been the key to them getting found out and destroying her whole horde her whole family, had been gay. If that was the case, she should have just eaten him.

 

“I thought that girl...you were going to sleep with her. You were going to change her and sleep with her. I killed her,” Krystal said.

 

“You killed her?” Jongin asked. He felt anger surge through him, but it was dull and useless seeing how Krystal looked now.

 

“I couldn't have you with a lover,” Krystal said.

 

“I have a lover, though, and you were going to skewer him if I didn't step in.”

 

“The pretty hunter?” she asked.

 

“Yes.”

 

Krystal only repeated, “Fuck.”

 

Jongin took one more look at the chains and at his venom doing its work to Krystal's skin. “If only there was someway we could compromise, it wouldn't have to be like this, Kryst...Ghoul Queen.”

 

The ghoul queen grinned hearing that. “You can't compromise with a monster.”

 

Jongin shook his head. “No, you’re not a monster. You wouldn’t have helped your sister if you were. You wouldn’t have tried to change in the first place.” Jongin turned and started to leave.

  
Lu Han said there were real monsters out there, but Jongin didn’t believe that now. Even his father still loved one thing so much he’d do anything for it -- his bank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated.


	22. Non Sum Qualis Eram

**22\. Non Sum Qualis Eram**

 

    At the board's table, Jongin sat neatly beside Mr. Bang only three chairs away from his father. The president had not been thrilled to see his son joining them at the meeting, Jongin could tell by the raised brow he sent Jongin's way when he walked in with Mr. Bang. Jongin hadn't been all that thrilled at first either. He had slept in his office the day following the events of the raid on the ghouls doing minimal work and even a weekend had not done anything for Jongin's mood. Mr. Bang hadn't been happy with him skipping out on that day, but Junmyeon had talked for him and at least given him a good excuse. He had trouble sleeping and Lu Han refused to let him unpack and fully move in until he had cleaned his whole apartment with the help of Minseok. But, seeing that expression from his father, Jongin found some pleasure in being forced to sit and listen to farty old men who talked over the only woman on the board and the younger men who had some outrageous but probable ideas and were the ones yelled at when bad news was presented. His father rarely said a word only to agree with something or to say no. Eventually, Jongin got fed up with it.

 

“I don't think you've taken into account how this bank actually runs,” Kim Eunjoon said to one of the younger men who had been presenting. “We're a bank that prides ourselves on traditions and have so for generations.”

 

“What about the next generation?” Jongin suddenly asked and everyone's eyes were on him. He uncrossed his arms and sat up straighter in his seat glancing at his father with a pierced look before turning to the presenter. “Your thesis is lacking support. You should do more research, but anything that has to do with technology is a step up in our advancement as a bank. Every generation from here on out will be more and more involved in technology. Paper and coin money will soon be a rare thing.”

 

“Jongin,” the president said, his voice teetering on terse, but still trying to appear civil.

 

“Yes, father?” Jongin asked turning to the man.

 

“You have a say in this matter? He came here with a half flung idea,” his father said.

 

“He did and I agree with that,” Jongin said. “But, I do not wish for half the staff to have every single one of their ideas beaten down before I take over as president. I'd rather encourage them if it is not a completely ridiculous one.”

 

His father pressed his lips together. He couldn't say much to that without making it known that he did not want Jongin as the heir, at least not this Jongin. When the president said nothing in response, Jongin turned to another board member.

 

“The numbers you presented, do they include all accounts or just the average? Please make two numbers with both. We don't want to make any of our customers feel less important than the others. I know it's the bigger spenders that bring in our income, but fast cash is still cash. And I think we should widen our circle on what we take in for liability. Most families don't own a car or own a house, but they have technology. They could be used for the smaller sized loans. We would get more customers that way and they may feel stronger about paying back if they don't wish their precious communication taken away,” Jongin added. He pointed out a few more opinions before looking at Mr. Bang. He smiled then pulled out a file. “I also have your correct numbers typed out here, Mr. Bang. Whatever assistant you had do them before missed a few.”

 

Mr. Bang took the paper with a frown. “I guess it's good to have the nose of the heir beside me. Shall I present my part?”

 

Mr. Bang made quick work of his presentation and sat again, his eyes going to Jongin before going to the president. The last few presenters did the same and Jongin could feel his father's glare on him the rest of the meeting before it was adjourned. Everyone seemed wary of Jongin as he bowed to the older staff as they passed. He felt one man standing before him longer than the rest and looked up.

 

“Yes, Mr. Bang?” Jongin asked. “Is there paperwork you need me to do or an errand?”

 

“How did you know?” Mr. Bang asked.

 

“Hmm, about what? The money fraud? I simply redid your work,” Jongin said.

 

“Those are complicated numbers, Jongin. I didn't believe them when they said you had learned everything overnight. You were such a dumb kid before and now you're speaking over your father. Your father hasn't even noticed.”

 

“My father doesn't look over the papers anymore,” Jongin said. “He just says yes or no and makes loan deals with rich companies.”

 

“And, will you tell him?” Mr. Bang asked.

 

“Will you be doing it again?” Jongin asked back.

 

Mr. Bang frowned. “I should have known when you made me redo that contract that you were becoming the real deal.”

 

“If you stop teaching me, I'll learn on my own,” Jongin said.

 

“There's no point if I do that, that's the only power I have over you it seems. I just want to know what changed,” Mr. Bang said. “You were suppose to be Kim's puppet and now you're outing your brother-in-law yourself and challenging your father in front of the staff.”

 

Jongin leaned back against the table and turned his head to look out the window of the board meeting room. “I stopped being nothing and became something.”

 

“And what is that something? You're not a president yet.”

 

Jongin grinned. “A monster.” When Mr. Bang didn’t respond, Jongin leaned off the table and moved past Mr. Bang. “Now, if you'll excuse me, Mr. Bang, I'll be going to do my own work if you don't need me for anything.”

 

Jongin took steady purposeful strides towards his office. It was still a measly thing, but it was his. Jongin walked in and smiled at the new computer and the set of shelves and drawers he had bought. Even the small fake plants added a legitimate touch to the space. Jongin pulled back the leather computer chair he'd been using, slightly tattered, but still stuffed, and was about to sit and start his usual work when the door to his office opened. The president closed the door behind himself loudly with a bang and stomped towards Jongin.

 

“How dare you challenge me in front of staff. You know nothing. Those men will eat you alive if you don't know your place,” his father said.

 

“Oh, I have experience with being eaten, I'm not afraid of that,” Jongin said.

 

“Don't get smart with me, boy,” his father said. “You're just a brat. I should have kicked you out the moment you started—”

 

“Being smart? Understanding? You were angry that I couldn't understand any of the teachings and now you're angry I know more than just the book work. You're just angry your weak male seed couldn't provide you with a harem of puppet sons.”

 

His father's face turned red. “What did you say to me?”

 

“You heard me,” Jongin hissed. “There's a reason you don't have other sons.”

 

His father raised a hand ready to bring it across Jongin's face. Jongin immediately grabbed his father's wrist, not just blocking it, and twisted it to the side with just enough force that it would bother the man for a few days. Kim Eunjoon winced and tried to pull away, but Jongin kept a firm hold and leaned in, glaring intensely.

 

“Don't you ever try to hit me,” Jongin seethed. “And if I ever find out you've hit anyone else, I swear, you'll feel those hits as one less year you're allowed as the bank president.”

 

Jongin let go of his father's arm and the man staggered back. “You think this is a game, Jongin?”

 

Jongin shook his head and grinned. “I'm not playing with you. I don't play with people's feelings unless they want me to. Not like you.”

 

“Do you hate me, Jongin?” his father asked. “Do you think me a monster?”

 

“No,” Jongin said. A monster wouldn't love something, Jongin had decided. Krystal must have loved her sister and her horde and maybe Jongin for a split second. Anything capable of love and affection wasn't a monster. “But, you reap what you sow, father, and you sowed me.”

 

His father threw Jongin one last glare then started out of the room.

 

“Oh, father, just one moment.” Jongin pulled out his phone and began to text. “I believe we should have a dinner together as a happy family with Mrs. Kim. The papers will like that, a good cover for Hyuna's impending divorce.” Jongin grinned at his father who said nothing, only nodded and left, closing the door with a faint thud.

 

**$**

 

Jongin sat in an empty break room at the bank flipping through a magazine he'd found on the rack. It had the actor Kris Wu, or Seoul's Monster Hunter leader Yifan, on the front and Jongin thought maybe it had an interview in it where he could read up on some of the lies Yifan told to the press. It was just a photoshoot he'd done with a Korean model and a very short Q&A section at the end between them both with generic questions and generic answers pertaining to the shoot's theme. The rest of the magazine was a lot more interesting. The break room door opened and heels clicked inside. Jongin assumed it was one of the staff and turned to greet her only to be surprised to see his eldest half-sister standing by the door in a pink dress appropriate for spring, white heels, and a white dainty purse smelling of expensive leather and a masculine perfume. Jongin felt like he’d been punched in the gut not recognizing his sister.

 

“Sister,” Jongin greeted.

 

“Little brother,” she greeted back.

 

Jongin looked around then stood and held out the chair beside him for her to sit. Hyoyeon nodded at the gesture and moved to sit flipping back her honey colored hair cropped just below her chin. She seemed more dressed up than Jongin had seen her in a few weeks. Comfortably in her house watching over Hyuna, she had been in a ponytail and pieces of her own line of workout clothes. She put her purse on the table then turned to Jongin slowly.

 

“They told me you were having lunch. Did you finish already?”

 

Jongin frowned down at his space on the break room table empty of everything but the magazine. He usually ate when Lu Han reminded him that he could or when he happened to walk by something that smelled good. He hadn't particularly felt hunger for anything other than blood the last few months. It was a trend he fell into much easier than he thought.

 

“I usually eat big meals early or late. I keep drinks in my office,” Jongin said.

 

Hyoyeon nodded and pulled out a mirror to check her makeup before speaking again. “Hyuna took those papers to the court like you asked.”

 

“That's good. Did she have any trouble?”

 

“Her bastard husband called her a couple times since then, but if I catch her having a conversation for too long, I just glare and mention your name. It seems she's come to respect you a lot.”

 

“I'm glad she doesn't see me as meddlesome,” Jongin said.

 

“No, she's always thought you were cute, that it was a shame we were related by blood. You are definitely a handsome younger brother, except this hair.” Hyoyeon reached out to tug a piece of Jongin's white hair.

 

Jongin was surprised by the touch, but smiled. “I'm afraid even if I dye it, it'll just come back. The stress from college has turned it white. At least if it's all white I stand out more.”

 

“You'll hurt your scalp,” Hyoyeon pointed out not believing Jongin’s words.

 

“I'll start dying it back to black when I'm thirty,” Jongin said. “Has she been called to an appointment yet?”

 

“Yes, I came from dropping her off back at my apartment. Since it is widely known Jo Insung was attacked after being in a hotel room cheating on his wife, the court has decided they can proceed with the divorce instead of going through counselling. Usually, cheating wouldn't be enough, but we have money and his affair was front page news. The girl that was still with him even confessed to sleeping with him and there was a reporter that caught some terse words from him when Hyuna went to visit,” Hyoyeon said.

 

“Good, has Jo Insung said anything about the papers he signed?” Jongin asked.

 

“He has, but he also agreed that he did sign them. He said you threatened him, but he wouldn't say with what. If it has to do with business deals, you really can't get police involved.”

 

Jongin hummed. “I didn't threaten him, I just said there was someone he should meet and opened a window. I doubt anything dangerous actually came in.”

 

“That's cruel, the man is scarred,” Hyoyeon said, but her infliction didn’t match her words.

 

“So is Hyuna.”

 

Hyoyeon looked away and nodded. “I knew he wasn't any good for her, but I wasn't going to marry him. Father and I got into arguments all the time. He fought with Hyuna sometimes, too, but over trivial things.”

 

“He almost hit me the other day,” Jongin said. “I stopped him.”

 

“It's good you have that ability. We've been hit a few times, not as many as I'm sure his lovers have. There was a rumor, I barely remember it, back when I was three or four, no older than five. It only stuck with me because of how horrible it sounded. Apparently, my father beat one of his lovers to the point she lost her child. I had always wanted to tell Hyuna every time I saw her being chummy with our father, but I never had the heart and definitely not now.”

 

Jongin nodded. “It wouldn't be a good idea considering it's true. It may not have been his child, but the mother was mine.”

 

Hyoyeon's eyes widened. “Were you already born?”

 

Jongin shrugged. “I'm not sure on the timeline. I recently found my real mother.”

 

“Oh,” Hyoyeon responded. She seemed red, but Jongin couldn't tell under all her makeup. She must be angry.

 

“You don't have to worry about it. I'll come to terms with that myself. Was there something else? Or did you just come to chat with your little brother?” Jongin asked.

 

“Both, I guess,” Hyoyeon said. “I...Hyuna seemed eager to get along with you when we first met. I wasn't sure what to make of you. You're a punk and I don't think you've grown out of that. You want to take over this business now so that takes a bit of a rough edge.”

 

“I like to pretend I've grown out of it,” Jongin said. “I get you not wanting to be close to me, Hyoyeon. Who wouldn't be weary of some random kid being introduced into their family? But, I'm at fault, too. I always wanted to be closer to you two. I felt a little less out of place if I stood between my sisters, my siblings, but I didn't know how to voice it.”

 

Hyoyeon reached a hand up and tapped her long nails on the table. “I didn't really think about how uncomfortable you must have been. No, that's a lie. I didn't bother trying to think about it. Hyuna's not so good about it, at least I thought she wasn't, but even she was putting on a front to look like the golden family even though everyone knew our father was a cheating womanizer of much younger woman and our mother drank too much and spent too much on pills and company. I didn't even realize Jo Insung was beating my own little sister, but I could sense she didn't love him even if she originally thought him so very handsome and charming. I didn't want to have to care about you, too. Your mother was getting money from us and you got an education and a place to work while all you had to do was be a puppet on a string.”

 

“I thought you were all such strong people,” Jongin said. “Our father's a jerk, but he knows what he's doing with this bank. Hyuna married a man she didn't want to just because she thought it would do good and stayed with him even when their families were fighting. Mrs. Kim, too, but she has her own reasons. And you defied father. You have your own business producing and putting out fashion and I know you donate to organizations that empower women.”

 

“I gave to an LGBT group last week, too. I've been looking into that part of society,” Hyoyeon said.

 

Jongin was caught off guard by that. “Oh...I...because of me?”

 

Hyoyeon's tapping stopped. “I had never really thought about it before even though those minorities work in the industries I'm interested in. I've only really ever met foreigners like that. I didn't know what else to do.”

 

“You didn't have to. I mean, they're probably grateful to you for it, but I'm not even out to the general public. I won't ever come out to them. I have more reasons than the obvious to keep it a secret.”

 

“I know that,” Hyoyeon said. “And if father ever found out, he'd be furious.”

 

“You don't worry about father, I can handle him,” Jongin said and grinned.

 

“But, I do worry about him more than I want to.” Hyoyeon started tapping her nails again. “He doesn't like you, Jongin. Mother talked with me the other day. She seemed upset with you, too. I'm afraid he might just get in the way of the divorce if that means he can put you back in the dog house.”

 

Jongin hadn't considered that. His father had wanted the Jo family to either submit or be gone. But, if his father could strike a deal with them, he might try and reinstate Insung as his heir instead of Jongin. That could happen. Jongin reached out and grabbed Hyoyeon's hand, stopping her tapping. She turned to him and he squeezed her hand in his.

 

“I have a plan,” Jongin said and smiled. “It'll turn out alright. I'm not letting you or Hyoyeon get hurt ever again. If worse comes to shove, I can transfer to Kim Ho Bank and we can all watch this bank fall, but I don't want that, Hyoyeon. Do you trust me?”

 

Hyoyeon looked down at their hands then smiled as well. “How can I not? I'm actually a little scared of you, Jongin, but it's a good fear.”

 

Jongin tilted his head and let go of Hyoyeon's hand. “Don't be too scared. I'd never bite you.”

 

**$**

 

Jongin had picked one of the most high class family restaurants in Seoul to have dinner with his father and Mrs. Kim. It was on top of a hotel built into a circular shape. Every wall on the outside ring of the restaurant was made of glass except for where the elevators came up and the actual kitchen was in the middle where you could watch the chefs at work as well as the main bar with two more smaller and private bars on opposite ends. There was a bigger kitchen down two floors that made the desserts and some of the appetizers. There were other patrons sat at their own white clothed tables under crystal hanging lights. Mostly they were old men with their wives or couples in their thirties. Jongin felt a bit out of place as he sat laid back in his seat swishing a glass of apple juice around waiting for his father and Mrs. Kim to arrive. There were stares on him and not just those couple who knew who he was or the reporters in other buildings watching him through their viewfinders. He thought it was because of the pinstriped suit he was wearing coupled with a high grade black t-shirt, but Lu Han had dressed him and he'd gotten the okay from Zitao who was an apparent fashionista, so it must have been the opposite.

 

Jongin's drink was gone by the time he saw his father getting off the elevator arm in arm with Mrs. Kim. Jongin stood and watched them as they approached, smiling and waving to a few of the men there they knew as they made their way to Jongin's table, perhaps not the most private, but definitely the one with the widest berth from other tables so their conversation wouldn't be as easily overheard. Jongin, playing the role of a good son, pulled out chairs for both of them and waved down a waiter before taking his own seat.

 

“I was afraid something had come up at the bank since you're thirty minutes late, father,” Jongin said scooting back into his seat.

 

“I was tied up, Jongin, but your step-mother must also have her time,” his father said unamused.

 

“I am still a symbol of beauty in society, Eunjoon,” Mrs. Kim said and playfully tapped her husband's arm. The only time she ever touched him was when they were in the public's eye and it wasn't for business. She was very elegant in these matters. Even her quotes on her husband's adultery had been elegant. They had all been jokes about her not wanting to have to handle her husband's desires when she was busy doing all the other wifely tasks of a businessman's wife. Jongin wondered what the papers would have said if they knew Mrs. Kim had not so wifely agendas on the side.

 

“Of course you are, dear,” Jongin's father replied and took a sip of water from one of the glasses present at the table.

 

“Would either of you like some wine? I haven't ordered more than my own drink yet. I'm not familiar with the type of dishes you both like, I just know this place was extremely suggested,” Jongin said.

 

“Oh, I always like to try the waiter's pick. Maybe a champagne,” Mrs. Kim said.

 

“Whatever you two desire. I have my own choice at home of hard liquor,” Kim Eunjoon said and took a menu when the waiter finally got free and came to their table.

 

“Then it will be Mrs. Kim's choice,” Jongin said and smiled charmingly at his step-mother.

 

Mrs. Kim seemed a bit taken back by the smile, but smiled back with a bit of a blush. If she thought he'd forgotten about the incident or changed his mind, she would soon realize she was sorely mistaken. His mask wasn't brought on for her benefit. He turned to the waiter.

 

“A bottle of your recommended champagne and another of these,” Jongin said raising his glass.

 

“I will pick the very best to go with your meal,” the waiter said cheerfully and looked at Jongin's glass. “Shall we go with the same scotch or would you like to try a brandy?”

 

“It's apple juice,” Jongin said. “I'm not much of a drinker.”

 

The waiter seemed surprised, but mentally jotted down the notes promising to be back soon to get their food order.

 

Jongin's father was buried in his menu and Mrs. Kim delicately held hers, finger bookmarking the order she'd already decided on. Jongin sat back waiting patiently. Jongin's father looked up at him from over the top of the book.

 

“Are you not ordering anything?” he asked.

 

“I've already made up my mind and I put in a special order when I reserved our dinner. Oh, leave room for cake,” Jongin said.

 

“Cake, why cake?” Mrs. Kim asked.

 

“Isn't it your anniversary at the end of the month?” Jongin said. “I figured we would celebrate it today since I was calling you out to dinner, a private celebration. At least that's what you can tell the press if anyone asks,” Jongin said and looked up when the waiter returned.

 

“Here you go,” the waiter said as he put down Jongin's drink and two glasses for Mr. and Mrs. Kim, popping the champagne ceremoniously and pouring them each a glass before nestling the bottle in a chilled engraved metal ice bucket. “Have you made up your minds for tonight's dinner?”

 

Jongin let his father and Mrs. Kim order first. He didn't understand half of what they said as the restaurant was french based, but he pretended he did. When it came to him, he urged the waiter to lean in and whispered his order and asked about the cake. The waiter's eyes widened for a second and then he grinned as he pulled away.

 

“Yes, sir, we can definitely do that for you,” the waiter said, bowed, and left to get their order.

 

“What was that all about?” Jongin's father asked.

 

“I told you I was recommended this place. I was told of a special meal they served. You two won't like it or else I would have ordered ahead,” Jongin said and reached out for his juice.

 

“I heard you missed a day of work,” Kim Eunjoon said. Now that he had no menu to occupy himself with, he had finally turned his attention to Jongin.

 

Jongin raised a brow. “That was two weeks ago, father. I came down with a bit of the stomach flu. It seems I haven't completely got accustomed to not eating junk food and it came back to bite me.” Jongin grinned at his joke, fangs barely showing.

 

“Hmm, yes, well...Mr. Bang praised you. I don't take much of his opinion though even if he is basically the vice president.”

 

Jongin frowned and swirled the contents of his juice around in his glass. He wondered how much he was actually paying per glass of this. It just tasted like normal juice. “Perhaps you should. But, I suppose you don't have to since I'm sitting under his nose currently. I can't let an old dog over sniff things can I?”

 

“I'll be sending you on a business trip north next week. Mr. Bang has to stay so you'll be going in his place. The company has already made the deal, you just have to sit with them and look...pretty I suppose,” Jongin's father said.

 

Jongin laughed. “Pretty?Is that a compliment? I don't believe I've ever gotten a compliment from you, father.”

 

His father seemed embarrassed by that. Perhaps he had meant it in a degrading way, but Jongin would not complain about being called pretty. Lu Han didn't like it, but Jongin knew to call a guy pretty meant you were paying attention to him.

 

“Don't get use to it,” his father finally said. “And about that report you brought my secretary—”

 

“Oh, must it always be about work?” Mrs. Kim said suddenly interrupting them both. “You can talk about this when you're actually at work.”

 

“What topic would you suggest?” Jongin asked Mrs. Kim.

 

“We're not discussing one of your clubs,” his father said. “That's always what you choose when we're in public. Those woman you hangout with assume I know them just because everyone hears you talking about them so much.”

 

Mrs. Kim seemed put off by her husband's dismissal. “I always have much to talk about with my clubs because I do much with them.”

 

Jongin sighed. He hadn't planned on watching his father and step-mother argue. Not that he couldn't turn a heated argument between them in his favor if it got noticed.

 

Jongin's father took up his glass of champagne, took a sip, made a face, and brought his attention back to Jongin. “Then how about we talk about your sisters?”

 

“Which sister in particular?” Jongin asked knowing very well where this discussion was leading.

 

“Hyuna. It seems you're helping her to get her divorce,” Kim Eunjoon said. “Do you really think that's wise?”

 

“He has already disgraced himself,” Jongin said. “The divorce is already in process and Jo Insung signed the papers.”

 

His father frowned hearing that and swirled his drink around. “His parents didn't mention that he'd signed the papers.”

 

“Oh, did you talk to his parents?” Jongin asked.

 

Mr. Kim looked up at Jongin and put his glass down. “I did have a discussion with them. They, as well as I, believe that Hyuna and Insung can overcome their differences and stay in this marriage.”

 

Jongin began to tap his foot under the table, but tried his best not to show his annoyance. “Oh, I'm sure you would. You think nothing of cheating.”

 

“Your step-mother was able to make good press about my rumors.”

 

“You mean your truth,” Jongin said indicating himself then turned to glare at Mrs. Kim for only a second. “I'm very much aware of her acceptance of your infidelity. But, what of the abuse? I'm sure you have nothing against your son-in-law beating your youngest daughter, raping her.”

 

Mr. Kim narrowed his eyes. “Who told you that?”

 

Jongin shrugged. “Would you care if Hyuna was the one? Would you care if she had come up to you and cried at your feet all bruised and battered? Just like you cared when you hit my mother...either of my mothers.”

 

Jongin's father's face went solemn. Mrs. Kim stiffened up.

 

“Jongin,” his father started to warn.

 

Jongin lowered his voice and leaned in a bit so no one would hear. “Hyuna will be divorced and you will not have Jo Insung as an heir. I will have your bank or it will crumble.”

 

His father leaned away and put a hand on the table tapping his fingers. “Your words sound convincing, but you don't have anything to back them up with. You have friends, but they're just friends.”

 

“They're not just friends, father,”Jongin chuckled and took a sip of his drink. When he looked up he saw a familiar figure coming their way and grinned. “Speaking of friends, I see someone familiar. I believe you both know her as well.”

 

When Narsha walked up to their table, it was as if his father and step-mother had seen a ghost, but Narsha looked nothing like a ghost. She was radiant. She had seemed excited to be a part of Jongin's little power act and had played it up looking every bit like the vampire queen she was. Her hair was dyed light brown and makeup on point and she wore a long flowing halter neck dress in a respectable shade of bright red, but with a slit that barely missed its mark below where it should straight smack in the middle of the dress’ skirt carrying a glittering clutch encrusted with red stones.

 

Jongin stood and greeted his vampire mother with a bow and a short hug then they both turned to the Kims still silent and still at the table.

 

“Father, Mrs. Kim, I'm sure you remember Ms. Park Hyojin, or perhaps you know her better as Narsha,” Jongin said presenting his birth mother.

 

Mrs. Kim was the first to snap out of it. Her eyes ran up and down Narsha's body before looking at her face and squinting. “You...you haven't changed one bit.”

 

Narsha lifted her clutch over her mouth as she laughed. “Oh, well of course I haven't. You, you look radiant for your age. I knew you would age well, Mrs. Kim.”

 

Mrs. Kim frowned. “What plastic surgeon do you use?”

 

Narsha laughed again then lowered her clutch to wave it at Mrs. Kim. “Surgery? I do no such thing. My secret to beauty is simply good blood.”

 

Jongin chuckled at that. Vampire humor was suddenly very amusing.

 

Narsha turned her attention to Jongin's father. “Eunjoon, my, still handsome at this age? But you've gained a bit of weight.”

 

“Narsha,” Jongin's father growled. “What are you doing here?”

 

“Me? Oh, I came to have dinner with Kim Junmyeon's heir. The Kim Ho bank is a dear friend of mine, has been for years and years.”

 

“Is that how you know my step-son?” Mrs. Kim asked.

 

Narsha hummed then looked at Jongin adoringly. “No, I've known this one since birth. I really regret leaving him in Eunjoon's care, though. My son could have been living in riches from day one like he was suppose to, not only when he became a convenient pet.” Narsha turned her attention towards Kim Eunjoon and glared. “I did tell you to treat him well when I left him with you, Eunjoon. I can forgive you changed his name, I do like the sound of Jongin, but you gave him to a poor girl and didn't even tell your wife who his real mother was.” She clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Oh well, the past is the past, but I'll be making sure to keep a close eye on my son from now on. A very close eye.” Jongin saw Narsha's eyes shift as she gave both his father and step-mother one last glare before excusing herself. Jongin could see Junmyeon's blond form moving to a table on the opposite curve of the restaurant.

 

“Isn't she lovely?” Jongin said as he took his seat.

 

“Jongin, how did you—” his father started.

 

Jongin cut him off when he saw their waiter coming towards them. “Oh, look, the waiter has come. And he went ahead and brought the cake.”

 

The waiter set down their food in front of each of them then placed the cake in a heart shape on a small table beside them before leaving again.

 

“The cake looks adorable, Jongin,” Mrs. Kim said, voice shaky as she turned to look at Jongin’s meal. “But, what is it that you are eating?”

 

“A savory pudding,” Jongin said. He had stalks of different vegetables laid out on a small plate as well as a tall  glass with shrimp decorating the lid. Inside was a thick red substance, much too thick to be regular shrimp sauce. Jongin picked up one of the shrimp and started peeling it.

 

Mrs. Kim leaned forward a bit, sniffing the air as discreetly as she could before leaning back and whispering to her husband. “It smells like blood. He's a lunatic and so is his mother.”

 

“Shut up, woman, she's having lunch with Kim Ho Bank's heir. He...looks so much more like Kim Junmyeon in real life.”

 

Jongin scooped up a bit of the pudding with a shrimp and brought it to his mouth. It definitely wasn't as good as Lu Han's blood, but Jongin was probably just bias. Junmyeon had said once that he'd never taste anything better than the blood of his current lover. But, Jongin would give credit to the human that donated this blood. It was definitely grade A stuff. Nothing better would come from a restaurant originally run by Yixing in his previous human facade. He let his father and step-mother argue silently for a little while longer as he ate before gesturing over to the cake.

 

“You two aren’t eating? Would you like to start with dessert first then? It's red velvet cake with red chocolate in it, like a lava cake. It'll just flow right out when you cut it. I can get the waiter over to cut it if you'd like,” Jongin offered, grinning and purposely showing his fangs.

 

“N-no that's quite alright, Jongin,” Mrs. Kim said, eyes staying locked on Jongin's mouth.

  
“Are you sure? If that's so then let me go ahead and say this officially,” Jongin said and copied Narsha's earlier move by shifting his eyes. “Happy Early Anniversary.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated. 
> 
> Two chapters left.


	23. Timidi Mater Non Flet

**23. _Timidi Mater Non Flet_**

 

    With a loud exhale of breath, Jongin was flung across the gym floor and into one of the walls set up as part of the obstacle course. He slid to the ground as his mind healed itself of the concussion granted from the sheer force of the blow. He laid there blinking, but only for a second as his blurry vision was filled with the silhouette of a figure standing over him, snapping a whip in front of their face. They moved back as the whip cracked towards Jongin. Jongin was immediately up before the whip could make contact with him and was climbing the walls again. He jumped to the next obstacle beside him and continued across different heights and widths of walls and pillars as the figure pursued him. He almost lost balance when a sharp guillotine like instrument came crashing down on him. He hopped to the floor out of its way and jumped aside just as he heard the whip cracking again.

 

“Quit running away from me, Jongin,” the whip's owner, Minseok, called.

 

“Why do you get a weapon, but I don't,” Jongin asked frowning as he looked over his training partner.

 

“It's a whip, not much of a weapon, I think,” Minseok replied, grinning as he curled his whip up into his hold. “You fought using Lu Han's dagger. You need to fight without a crutch. Particularly against enemies with weapons.”

 

Jongin crossed his arms. “It is a weapon, it's just a sadist’s weapon.”

 

Minseok laughed. “I'm so glad you're starting to understand, Jongin. Now come here so I can whip you.”

 

“Like hell I am,” Jongin said. “I'm running before Kyungsoo decides to drop a mace on both our heads.”

 

Just as he spoke, stones started to fall from the ceiling. Jongin moved as fast as he could to avoid them while also trying to get away from Minseok. He was suppose to be figuring out a way to get close to the other vampire, but with the whip, Minseok had a larger area of defense. Jongin wasn't going to be able to do this unless he got faster or Minseok slipped up. Jongin got far enough away in a corner where the stones weren't falling and turned to take in Minseok's placement and actions. The other vampire was on the other side of the obstacle course waiting for the rocks to stop as well. Jongin watched how he paced, like a cat, but a small one. He had strength, though he didn't rely on it, Jongin had learned that from the past times he'd fought against Minseok. He relied on observation and pure skill. He'd trained for, Jongin wasn't sure how much longer than most of the other vampires in Kim Junmyeon's current sect, so he had that advantage. He was an all arounder, as if he'd read whatever vampire fighting manual existed so many times that he knew how to do the secrets that lay between the lines. But, Minseok was also a sadist. He had fun chasing Jongn around.

 

That was it. Minseok’s body knew the rules so well, he would have to break the typical way he'd been taught how to fight in order to have fun. Jongin knew he could be faster and he could be more fluid, but he had to be a surprise. He looked around quickly. The rocks had stopped falling. He jumped before Minseok made a move and grabbed one of the stones. He threw one at Minseok who flicked it away with his whip then threw the other somewhere in the gym. All the lights went out and Jongin moved into the shadows as quick as he could.

 

“Playing dirty are you?” Minseok asked eyes immediately dilating to compensate for the darkness. “I can still see you, you know. I can feel you.”

 

Jongin knew that. He could feel Kyungsoo and Junmyeon in their little control room above them, but only if he paid attention. They weren't there to do any harm (well, Kyungsoo was but part of the training was to ignore him), so Jongin's consciousness ignored them and focused on Minseok. He needed to get the other vampire closer. Closer. Closer.

 

Minseok's whip shot down at Jongin from above the wall he had been hiding behind in the dark. Immediately, Jongin rolled away and pushed himself up, scaling the wall to grab hold of Minseok. They fell together on the other side and rolled around hissing. Jongin stopped when he felt nails pressing into his chest and smelt blood.

 

“That was a good try, Jongin, but a vampire's hands and teeth are their number one weapon,” Minseok said before pulling his hand back. “That's game, Jongin.”

 

Jongin sighed and climbed off Minseok. He sat back on his butt, taking in deep breaths. It was so much more tiring fighting Minseok than it had the tower lovers. Their rounds were so much shorter and at least Jongin could win against the other two on occasion. Minseok stood and reached a hand out to Jongin. Jongin took it and let himself be helped to his feet.

 

“I got blood on your shirt,” Minseok said.

 

The lights in the gym turned back on and Jongin looked down at one of the many white muscle tanks he'd bought to practice in. “Yeah, but it's not like I ever leave here without blood on me somewhere. It was a cheap shirt.”

 

“We could always do this naked, or like when you first started. You do have to learn to fight in clothes though.”

 

“It's not much clothe. And with you, you have to be able to see the amount of blood or else I won't know if I really got you,” Jongin said and removed his heavy protective collar from around his neck. He started towards the entrance platform where his original clothing was folded up.

 

Minseok followed and removed his own collar, tore off his sweaty white t-shirt, then started taking off the skin tight leggings they wore.

 

There was suddenly clapping from the intercom then Junmyeon's voice. “You two did great. Jongin, if only you could tap into your speed, you'd get a few hits in on Minseok. You're still like a very clumsy large kitten.”

 

Jongin frowned and turned to Minseok. “Can he beat you?”

 

Minseok grinned. “He use to until I learned. He's like an old man now. Plus, he likes his weapons. Used a sword as a human, can't give it up. Yifan, too. Swords and horses, the both of them.”

 

Jongin nodded and started to dress as well.

 

“How is it going moving into Lu Han's apartment?” Minseok asked.

 

“It's going alright. He won't let me unpack anything until I get my own furniture. I told him the ones he already had in the guestroom were fine, but he wants me to personalize it. Honestly, I'd rather just share with him.”

 

“He doesn't like to share. Has he tried to kick you out of bed yet?”

 

“A couple times when he just wants to nap. Sometimes he complains when he's asleep and kicks me. He said he was going to buy a bigger bed.”

 

“Are you still going back to your mother's house?”

 

“I have to. Lu Han's lease says if someone stays in his apartment more than six nights, he has to pay extra since his name is the only name on the lease. I have to wait until July to get my name on it.”

 

“It's not like they'll know if you stay there,” Minseok pointed out.

 

“Yeah, but I haven't told my mother yet,” Jongin said.

 

“Well, that's something for Lu Han to yell at you about.”

 

“What about you and Yifan?” Jongin asked.

 

Minseok hissed. “I haven't...I'm ignoring him right now. He's been going to see that girl that slept with your brother-in-law. I think he's trying to help you with the divorce, but he's basically dating her.”

 

“Sorry,” Jongin said.

 

Minseok sighed. “It's fine. We play this game every so often.”

 

“Game? Lu Han said you were serious this time,” Jongin said.

 

Minseok finished dressing and went to the elevator. He waited for Jongin to join him before responding. “I am serious. I don't have to be, but I am. It's not as if I won't fancy someone else later on down the line, but I'm just kind of tired of it. Yifan's the only one I ever come back to. And it's not like we slept together right away. Yifan's not like that.”

 

“When did you join them?” Jongin asked.

 

“Oh, back before they even started dating,” Minseok said. “They were friends for a long time. There were other people in the sect back then. When I heard the reasoning behind vampires’ acceptance of same sex relationships, even at that time in history, I became curious and ended up sleeping with Yifan. He was curious, too, because he was starting to develop something more than admiration for his fellow leader. It was one night after a few drinks and a good hunt. Our bellies were also full of blood. I mentioned I was curious, so was he. It was clumsy and not all that great. We were both sore the next day, but my curiosity was satisfied and I opened a new window for myself. You know, I've always been a playboy.”

 

Jongin raised an eyebrow at Minseok. He didn't really look like one until he grinned a certain way. He looked too cute, but maybe that was his ploy. “Really? Lu Han said you were the one that made him realize it was okay to admit he was gay.”

 

“Oh, yes,” Minseok chuckled. “I didn't really want Lu Han to admit he was gay so much as to learn to enjoy the woman he didn't like sleeping with and to realize he was also interested in men. I guess he really only likes men, though. I, well back then we didn't have a word for it, but I'm pansexual. I think most vampires you find are pansexual or at least bi. There are very few who are straight. There are asexual vampires. Some of them have sex, some of them have relationships, but there is a sect that's just them. It's very peaceful there. If you ever want to just stop everything, you go hangout with them. I lasted for about a week. I very happily lost my virginity when I was twelve so I couldn't stay with them very long.”

 

“Twelve?” Jongin's eyes widened. He'd been fifteen.

 

“Yes, well, I wasn't a rich child, but I had an uncle with a bit of a fortune. My mother took her life after my father ran away with some really young girl. Never did find him,” Minseok said, “so I started living with my uncle. This was in the 1600's. I was sold to a scholar as an apprentice. Didn't really like books, but I learned all the words I was suppose to. I was afraid my mentor would take me to his room and make me cry like the other apprentices. He didn't because my uncle was rich. There was a prostitute, well maybe not prostitute. It was suppose to be a secret. But there was a lady that lived near us, a widow with a very young son, who was still in her teens. I played with her son sometimes, babysat I guess. She asked me if I knew what sex was. I'd read books about it, but she taught me everything. From there I began using the words I'd been taught with what she taught me and had half the prostitutes and widows and unhappily married wives along with a few girls all under my belt.”

 

Jongin coughed listening to Minseok gloat. “Didn't you get in trouble for that?”

 

“Only twice. But, one of the girls said she had been sleeping with the other guys and the other was a widow who ran to work at a shrine so I got off scot free,” Minseok said grinning.

 

The elevator rose and Jongin moved his arms to cross his chest. “So the girls were fine with you playing with them?”

 

“Oddly, yeah. I never promised them anything and I was good with my words. And I didn't pick anyone that would be clingy. I think it's because I don't look it that they were so willing to go along with it. I had a pretty good life as a human,” Minseok said.

 

“So why did you stop?” Jongin asked and turned towards Minseok.

 

“Being human?” Minseok's grin disappeared and he stared at the doors of the elevator. “My uncle poisoned me. My father had come by money and he had learned of it. Since my father had run away, the money was suppose to go to me. He said he wanted to take me to the next town over. Apparently, I had a cousin there from my mother's side. We stopped in the middle of a forest and my uncle gave me some water to drink then left me there. Yifan changed me. He was sneaking back to their sect from a job in China and found me. When I realized what I was, I wanted to go back and kill my uncle. But, he had a wife and three daughters. I couldn't do it. I killed my mentor instead.”

 

Jongin nodded. “I never knew Yifan was your vampire mentor.”

 

Minseok laughed. “I've never once called Yifan 'Mentor'. I called him Master, that's what everyone called their creator back then. Also, because I couldn't pronounce the Chinese word they used for him. Duizhang. I can pronounce it now. I still call him Master sometimes. I think he likes it.” Minseok looked away with a soft look in his eye that reminded Jongin of the looks he saw Taemin with when he was taking a break from Minho. Suddenly, Minseok turned back to Jongin and held up a finger. “Don't think that's why I'm trying to make Yifan my lover now. I honestly don't know why. Our first time was the worst sex I've ever had, but we get better each time. I was his rebound when he broke up with Suho. Or maybe I was the realization that they really were over, no more pretending they felt anything for each other.” Minseok shrugged. “Doesn't really matter, I was too ecstatic to have Lu Han around. I never really wanted to sleep with him or anything, so don't worry about that.” Minseok patted Jongin's arm as the elevator finally opened on the top floor.

 

Jongin walked out and waited for the other vampire to join him. “Minseok, was everyone else here already when Lu Han joined?”

 

“Yes,” Minseok said. “Zitao and Chanyeol are the youngest of us, but Zitao was here way before Lu Han, he was turned about the same time. Some lunatic burned down the Monastery Zitao was learning martial arts at. He was badly burned and Yixing changed him. That's all I really know. They were in China with Yifan doing some mission. I have no idea when Zitao and Yixing became lovers, but I know Yixing was a virgin up to that point and Yixing was around in the 1700s. Yixing himself was just one of the many cases of wrong place at the wrong time, like yourself to a point. As for Chanyeol and Sehun—”

 

Jongin lifted a hand and cut Minseok off. “I'll ask them another time. Kyungsoo's glaring at me.”

 

Down the hall, Junmyeon's lover was sending death stares Jongin's way. They must have taken a different elevator to get up here first, but he could tell by that look that Junmyeon probably wanted to talk to him.

 

“Alright, I'll tell you more another time, Jongin. Maybe we'll get to stories about Lu Han and all his ex vampire boyfriends,” Minseok teased before quickly going into his own condo.

 

Kyungsoo lifted a hand and beckoned Jongin down the hall.

 

Jongin followed. A few of the condos down the hall were empty now. It had been almost a month since the ghoul invasion after all and some of the vampires had left to their new hideout. Junmyeon had made it very clear he didn't want to be in charge of that many vampires. Narsha was still around, but he hadn't bothered to bother her. She was all too happy to find him herself, particularly around the times there were court sessions for Hyuna's divorce.

 

“Junmyeon wants a quick word,” Kyungsoo said and led Jongin to Junmyeon's apartment, but stopped him before he entered. “Jongin.”

 

Jongin turned to him. “Yes.”

 

Kyungsoo looked away and scratched the back of his black dyed hair (which had finally turned a natural shade of gold before he’d slapped dye on it). He pressed his bow shaped lips together before finally looking Jongin in the eye. “I'm sorry I bit you.'

 

Jongin blinked. He honestly wasn't expecting an apology. It was so overdue that Jongin was over it. He smiled. “I don't really care about being bitten anymore, Kyungsoo. I was born this way, right? You just made it so I could be younger forever.”

 

“But, still, you might not have changed,” Kyungsoo said. He was looking at the floor now. Had it really taken him this long to open up to Jongin? Jongin thought the vampire that had bit him hated him. Was he just shy? It was kind of cute in a way. He was starting to understand what Junmyeon saw in him. “I chose this life, but I didn’t let you have a choice.”

 

“Maybe, but I wouldn't have been happy as a human. So, thanks for biting me, Kyungsoo,” Jongin said and held out a hand.

 

Kyungsoo glared at Jongin's hand for a moment before looking up at Jongin and smiling. He had a really pretty smile, Jongin noted as the other vampire took his hand. Jongin smiled bright and let go, turning to go meet with Junmyeon leaving Kyungsoo to stare at his hand.

  
  


**$**

 

“So, where do you two want to go?” Jongin asked as he walked down the street dressed down from his usual suit to just a button up and some well fitted jeans.

 

“You're suppose to replace my clothes,” Sehun said walking behind him in street attire for the first time since Jongin had met him.

 

“And I want to eat lots of street food,” Chanyeol added. “You promised you'd pay for everything.”

 

Jongin sighed and turned to look back at the two vampires he'd brought out with him on a Saturday night in spring. They were both almost unrecognizable if they weren't so tall and blond. Dressed in their street wear, they weren't so intimidating. Chanyeol was very urban in his style with a colorful jacket over a graphic tee and gray joggers, a stylish snapback covering most of his platinum blond hair. Sehun was a bit more dapper with a vest instead of a jacket and bright pink shorts with glasses he didn't need having vampire vision. They probably didn't need to be treated to clothing or food, either, but Jongin had yet to get around to thanking them for any of what they had done for Jongin – taking him home that first night, helping him train, helping out with the investigation, and with Krystal.

 

“I know just the place. Up for a little walk?” Jongin asked. “Oh, and keep your hands off each other, we're being followed by reporters.”

 

Sehun shrugged. “We don't often do PDA.”

 

“If we're not in our own condominium, then we're on duty,” Chanyeol added.

 

Jongin took note. He hadn't really seen the two supposed lovers being lovers. They were always just standing there looking menacing. Jongin started towards one of his favorite streets to shop and treat himself to greasy unhealthy middle of the night meals. It was busy just as Jongin had expected being a Saturday night. He had thought to bring Lu Han with him and make it more of a double date, but the hunter had promised to be hunting tonight. They weren’t a hundred percent sure all the ghouls in the horde had been killed so they were still patrolling the tunnels and areas around the woods outside of Seoul as well as Jessica's store. Apparently, Krystal Wiches had been taped up with caution tape after finding the real owners body in a pond a couple weeks back. Jongin hadn't dared roam the streets near the deli. He'd already been asked questions about it and they had cleared him of any suspicion, but he was still on their radar as the only one with any connections to the deli. Krystal was MIA for all they knew and that made her the number one target especially after Jongin said she had admitted to dating older men for money.

 

“Hey, there are a lot of girls with their phones out over there,” Chanyeol said pointing to a store across the street and a few down from them.

 

Jongin squinted his eyes then sighed. “It's my friends. Can you go block their view while I go save them?”

 

Sehun and Chanyeol nodded and walked over to the store, using their tall bodies to block the girls gossiping to each other about the men in the store. Jongin went in and snuck up behind a tall man and two slightly shorter ones then cleared his throat.

 

“J-Jongin!” Taemin stammered turning with fear in his eyes then reached out and punched Jongin's shoulder. “You scared me I thought you were a fangirl.”

 

“Jongin. Hey, haven't seen you in a while,” Wonsik said reached out to give Jongin a hug.

 

Jongin returned the affection to both his friends then looked at the tall man of the group and smiled. “Hey, Minho. How'd you get dragged into hanging out with these two dweebs?”

 

Minho smiled just as charmingly and brightly as in all the magazines Jongin had seen him in with or without the band he and Taemin were part of. “Well, it's more of Taemin wanted to 'go out', so we asked Wonsik to come along.”

 

Jongin nodded understanding. Taemin and Minho were on a date, but it was less suspicious if another person was with them.

 

“Save me,” Wonsik pleaded. “They keep doing things in the corner, but there are too many fangirls around now.”

 

“I actually came over here to save all of you guys. You took your masks off and some girls recognized you and are taking pictures and stuff.”

 

“Oh, but what were you doing around here in the first place?” Taemin asked and looked around Jongin. “Is Lu Han with you?”

 

“No, I'm with those guys from the bar. Those guys,” Jongin emphasized.

 

Taemin nodded understanding Jongin meant vampires. Wonsik took a moment to remember them. “Oh, the guys that took you home that night you were attacked? I didn't know you made friends.”

 

Friends? Jongin furrowed his brows. Was he making friends with the other vampires? Other than these two and Lu Han, Jongin hadn't had any other friends since high school. He smiled. “Yeah, something like that. Hurry and put your disguises on and sneak out the back way.”

 

“Hey, can I hang with you guys then?” Wonsik asked. “We can let these two go and do what they're actually wanting to do. The reporters already got pictures of all three of us tonight, I've done my share.”

 

Jongin shrugged. “Sure, but I'm not paying your stuff. I owe those guys some clothes and food, but I don't owe you anything.”

 

Wonsik frowned. “You're stingy.”

 

“Thanks, Jongin, we'll be going now,” Taemin said, grabbing Minho's arm and hurrying away to the back of the store.

 

Jongin waved them off and turned to his other friend. “Let's go distract the fangirls.”

 

Wonsik walked out without a mask on getting the girls' attention. Jongin followed him and gestured for Chanyeol and Sehun to walk over all very naturally. He did a quick introduction. Wonsik took one look at a bored faced Sehun and immediately went to Chanyeol's side who seemed all too excited to talk to him about Wonsik's idol group and hiphop.

 

“Looks like your boyfriend got taken away,” Jongin pointed out.

 

Sehun shrugged. “It's alright. He's actually a real big people person.”

 

“And you aren't?”

 

“If Chanyeol likes them then we'll talk,” Sehun answered and pointed at a store. “I see my joggers in there.”

 

They walked to the store, Chanyeol and Wonsik following after.

 

“Man, he's got such a small waist compared to his shoulders,” Wonsik said as they stood around letting Sehun look for new clothes, Chanyeol pointing things out being not so helpful.

 

“Yeah, they're both pretty strong,” Jongin said.

 

“They seem close,” Wonsik pointed out.

 

“Well, they are dating.”

 

Wonsik hummed, “So I wasn't the only one playing the third wheel tonight.”

 

“No, but I was the one that asked them out. I owe Sehun clothes he let me borrow because Lu Han wouldn't let me get my own,” Jongin said.

 

“Lu Han's that dancer, right? You two got 'settled'.”

 

Jongin nodded. “I'm not living with him quite yet. I think it's mainly because he wants me to tell my mother, not because of his landlord's rules.”

 

“And you haven't told your mother you're moving out, why?” Wonsik asked.

 

Jongin sighed and looked down at his shoes. “First, she hasn't been home much and...we haven't been talking. It's weird.”

 

“Why? I mean, I know you and your mom fight a lot, but why?”

 

“Because she's not actually my mom,” Jongin answered.

 

“Oh...well...shit, I didn't know that.”

 

Jongin looked at probably his only human friend surprised. “I thought Taemin would have told you.”

 

Wonsik shook his head. “This is the first time I've really been able to see Taemin since preparing for our new album. We're about to drop it here in a couple days so I got some off time before then, but Taemin's been in Japan so much lately. And you...you could have told me yourself.”

 

Jongin felt guilty. “I know I could have. I wasn't planning to tell anyone, but...I still don't know how to feel about it. And I was busy.”

 

Wonsik lifted an arm up and wrapped it around Jongin's shoulder, letting it lay there, comfortably and comfortingly. “Look, I know you're busy, I'm just not use to you being the busy one out of us. It just sorta sucks that Taemin and I can't be there for you anymore when things like this pop up. I mean, your brother-in-law was attacked and your sister is getting a divorce and your old boss is now a runaway potential murderer. Shit, the only thing that's happened with me was this album and I broke up with my girlfriend. And I thought that was depressing.”

 

“I didn't know you had a girlfriend,” Jongin said.

 

“We broke up. We only dated for a month, like I would tell you guys that,” Wonsik said and sighed sliding his arm off Jongin's shoulders. “Not like I didn't only recently find out about you and Lu Han.”

 

“Sorry, I'll try and text you more,” Jongin promised.

 

“Got it, I'll do the same. And I'll actually get you tickets to our concert if we have one after this comeback.”

 

Jongin smiled in agreement and moved his attention to the vampires he'd originally come with. They were headed to the desk of the small shop with more than one outfit. There went this week's allowance, Jongin thought as he went to pay for it.

 

Chanyeol ran up ahead of the group when they left the shop, stretching and looked around. “I smell something really delicious.”

 

“There's a tent down the street we can sit at. I'll give you and Sehun cash if you just want to go grab some stuff from stalls, but they've got good soup at the tent I'm going to get,” Jongin said digging in his wallet.

 

“Oh, there's a great ugly hot dog stand,” Wonsik said. “That's my favorite.”

 

Jongin handed money to Chanyeol then tried to hand some to Sehun as well. Sehun took it and gave it to Chanyeol then looked to Wonsik. “Will you take him around to get some food? I'm not really hungry.”

 

“Sure,” Wonsik agreed and walked off with the taller of the vampire towers.

 

“You're coming with me to get soup?” Jongin asked Sehun.

 

“Yeah.”

 

The tent Jongin mentioned wasn't far from the shop, just nestled between two popular stores. Jongin found an empty table and left Sehun there with his bags as he went to order food. When he came back, Sehun was playing with a snapback Chanyeol had put on his head in the shop.

 

“I have to say, he's got a cute side,” Jongin said as he took a seat opposite of Sehun.

 

Sehun smiled softly at the hat and put it back into his bag. “Yeah. He's going to be mauled with fangirls hanging out with your friend.”

 

“Then why did you let him go?” Jongin asked chuckling.

 

Sehun shrugged, face falling. “Chanyeol is the one that misses being human the most out of all of us still in the sect, even more than Lu Han and Zitao had.”

 

“Then why doesn't he become a hunter?” Jongin asked.

 

“He doesn't have a reason to,” Sehun said. “Becoming a hunter doesn't bring back your human life, it just makes you more human. It's just a state of rest for the vampire curse. Yifan became a hunter because he was tired, Lu Han because he wanted to be true to himself as a human, and Zitao because he wanted to do something. Vampires don't really fight anymore and he wanted to fight. Chanyeol doesn't want anything.”

 

“Do you want anything?” Jongin asked and blew on a spoonful of his soup.

 

Sehun grinned. “Chanyeol. I came to be a vampire after Yixing, but I had lived with vampires since I was born. My father is Suho's mentor. I guess you could say we're cousins, Jongin.”

 

Jongin raised a brow. “Really?”

 

“Yeah. Narsha's technically my aunt, but I've never thought of her that way. Suho was the one that changed me and the one that basically raised me. My mother died giving birth to me so my father took me in. I never wanted any life other than the vampire one so I chose to be bit. Chanyeol didn't. Chanyeol had a wife and a son. She was barely eighteen and her son was two. A crazy man came to their small country home and murdered them. He tried to murder Chanyeol, too, but Suho found them. Chanyeol only told me the story of what happened once before we became lovers, that was how I knew he trusted me enough to pursue him. His wife and son were asleep inside. Chanyeol was out helping one of their pigs give birth. With all the squealing of the new baby pigs, he didn't hear his own wife's screams as the man, a traveler, forced her down and chopped off her head then raped her. That was when Chanyeol walked in. He could hear his son crying when he came in to tell his wife the pigs had been born. He stepped into the door, saw the killer raping his beheaded wife, and immediately got an axe thrown at his chest. He had to lay there on the floor and watch the killer finish with his wife then move to his son. He did terrible things to the boy. A two year old!”

 

Sehun was sneering. Jongin pushed his soup away. He could only imagine what those terrible things were.

 

“The kid wasn't dead when Suho got there thirty minutes after the guy had finished with the kid. Chanyeol had managed to crawl to his son and was holding him when Suho arrived. They were both barely breathing. Suho took a risk changing Chanyeol. He might not have survived, but he couldn't change the kid. We have rules. You can't change a pregnant woman, you can't change a known murderer or rapist, and you can't change a child who hasn't bled or dropped. Nowadays they have to be in high school at least and that's only for emergencies, but that's what it was back then. The kid had a fifty-fifty percent chance of making it as a vampire, but the things the killer had done to him before and after Chanyeol got back to his house were so bad that changing him was the only way he could live. Suho made a decision that Chanyeol wasn't happy with. He wasn't happy with us for a very long time. He never tried to hurt himself though or track down the killer. He didn't go seek anyone even when his family thought it was he who had done the deed when his was the only body not found on their farm months later. He was living a simple life, but not a happy one.”

 

“He had a wife and child,” Jongin pointed out. “He wasn't happy?”

 

“No. Baekhyun had just joined us not long before Chanyeol. He was an accidental change by one of the others that were in our sect at the time, kind of like how we thought you were,” Sehun continued. “Baekhyun was the one that found out about how Chanyeol felt. He felt guilty because he felt freed. Chanyeol had been forced to marry at sixteen. His wife was twelve. He slept with her once when his wife begged him to and that was how they got their son. He didn't want to be a pig farmer, he wanted to play music. Suho had asked me to go cheer him up. That was why I had asked Baekhyun about him. I wasn't interested before. He was so mopey about being a vampire and I thought being a vampire was the greatest thing in the world. I took him an instrument and heard him play. He's very good with music, Jongin. That's what made me interested in him, but the first song he made as a vampire was sad, so sad. So, I bothered him about it over and over and over until we became friends. Then he told me about his past and his songs became happier and happier until they were love songs. That was the cutest I'd ever seen Chanyeol. It was a little after Lu Han joined us that we became lovers. He really loves music, so that's why I'm okay with him hanging out with your friend. He actually really likes his band.”

 

Jongin smiled feeling a bit heavy. “Why did you tell me all of this?” Minseok had also told him about his past not long ago.

 

Sehun reached out for the soup Jongin had ordered and stirred up a spoon for himself. “Because we're friends now, Kim Jongin and you've gone through crap the past couple months. But, it might be nice to know most of our journeys into becoming vampires weren’t easy or simple. Other than Baekhyun's and Yixing’s. Well, I guess you could count Jongdae. Jongdae's vampire lover couldn't keep his fangs in his mouth when Jongdae knotted him for the first time. But, I digress. Is this soup really that good?”

 

Jongin nodded and watched Sehun take a slurp.

 

“Hmm, could use more garlic,” Sehun said and took another spoon.

 

Jongin smiled and turned his head to see Chanyeol and Wonsik coming into the tent with their hands and arms full of random street food.

 

“Look, Sehun, I got us a feast,” Chanyeol said almost leaping over tables with his long legs to reach Sehun. And Sehun looked at him with the most emotion Jongin had ever seen on the vampire.

 

Jongin could understand. It was when your lover was being the most ridiculous that you knew they were the most happy.

 

**$**

 

“Are you sure you don't want me to come to your apartment tonight?” Jongin asked, grinning against the receiver of his phone.

 

“I'm certain. I'm not going to be home tonight and if my nosy neighbor down the hall hears you, he'll tell the landlord. He's been itching to get more money out of me when I got a three bedroom apartment for one person. He was so ecstatic when I added the cat in,” Lu Han said from the other end.

 

Jongin sighed and looked up at the full moon as he walked back home after a business dinner with one of the men he had encouraged to take a loan up with Kim Eun bank. He wasn't far from the house now, but he had called Lu Han just incase the hunter had changed his mind about going out to act as a bodyguard for the local werewolf pack when they went on their hunt tonight. He really hadn't been staying at the house much anymore and especially not until the housekeeper had left and his mother was asleep or staying over with the man she was dating. But, his room was empty of most things. He'd decided to take the pictures that had been empty reminders and most of the books and the television just to rub it in his father's face if he ever bothered to take the house back. If his father did take the house back, he would have to tell his mother he moved out. It was very likely to happen seeing as his father was still trying to belittle him though he could do nothing that involved the actual company knowing full well Jongin had not only the Kim Ho bank on his side but the supernatural.

 

“Alright, have fun playing with the dogs, Lu Han. I love you,” Jongin said.

 

“I love you, too, go get some sleep, you don't do that enough,” Lu Han said then hung up the phone.

 

Jongin chuckled. He wasn't the one who went out chasing dogs until sunrise. Junmyeon wouldn't let him train that long anyways, plus, he was busy tonight and had told Jongin to find something else to do after his dinner. Jongin assumed it was a date with Kyungsoo. Junmyeon would have said if it was business related. Jongin pouted as he reached the front gate of the house. He wanted to go on a date with Lu Han. They really didn't do those unless tagging along with his lover doing hunter things counted as dates.

 

The porch light was on, but the garbage on the porch was still there. Jongin frowned seeing it and turned around to unlock the gate again when he suddenly heard a scream from inside. Jongin's eyes widened and he looked up on the third floor where he could see a light on in his room. Jongin left the idea of taking care of the garbage and ran to the front door. It was unlocked and he swung it open as he ran up the stairs not bothering with his shoes. He found his mother in the hall outside his room dialing frantically. She looked up when she saw Jongin and stopped, throwing herself into his arms.

 

“Oh, Jongin, it's terrible,” his mother cried.

 

Jongin held his mother delicately. She looked smaller than the last time he had seen her this up close. “What? What happened?”

 

“We were robbed! They might still be in here. Your room, Jongin, your room,” she said.

 

Jongin furrowed his brows and looked at his opened door. There wasn't anything for anyone to steal in his room really. Jongin pushed his mother away from himself softly and peeked inside. All the surfaces were empty, shelves empty, bookcases empty, and most of Jongin's closet bathroom arrangement was empty as well. He could understand why his mother might think it was robbery.

 

“We weren't robbed, Mom. I moved out,” Jongin said walking into his room and just doing a double check of everything. Nope, definitely not robbed.

 

“Moved out?” his mother said and stepped into his room as well. She looked around confused then looked at Jongin. “You moved out?”

 

Jongin frowned and looked away. “Not officially, but yes. I...should have told you earlier.”

 

“Oh, well...you're not taking the furniture?” she asked.

 

“No, I don't really care for it,” Jongin said.

 

His mother crossed her arms, hand holding onto her upper arms as if holding herself. “You could just have the house, you know.”

 

“It's his house, not ours,” Jongin said.

 

His mother nodded and turned a bit away from Jongin looking around again. “All the pictures are gone.”

 

“Yeah, I'm taking those,” Jongin said watching her. How long had it been since the last time she had actually come to Jongin's room. “Mom, what were you doing up here?”

 

Jongin's mother looked at him surprised then looked away, guilty. “I came to tell you I was going to be gone for two weeks. Changmin's taking me with him to Hawaii for a vacation.”

 

“Oh, your boyfriend? Things are going good then.”

 

His mother nodded.

 

Jongin stuffed his hands inside his pockets and sighed. “I'm sorry I scared you, Mom.”

 

“You're still calling me that?”

 

“What?”

 

Jongin's mother walked over to the television stand and ran her hand along the dusty empty surface. “I didn't know if you would still call me that – Mom.”

 

Jongin took her in, his mother's thin frame, shoulders slumped, hair frazzled, one arm still slung around herself, and felt a knife stabbing at his heart. It hurt almost as much as a literal knife stabbing him. The knife poked and prodded then sliced a path down to his stomach. He reached out and took his mother's arm making her turn to look at him.

 

“You raised me, why would I stop calling you what you are?” Jongin asked and somehow found a smile through the terrible pain he felt. He shouldn't have avoided her even if she had done the same.

 

His mother took Jongin's hand off her and stepped around him going to sit on his bed. “I'm not your real mother, though.”

 

“By all legalities, you are,” Jongin said. “You're my adopted mother so you're my mom.”

 

She crossed her legs and placed her hands in her lap and stared down at them. “I've been horrible to you, Jongin, and you still want to call me Mom?”

 

Jongin moved and sat down next to her. “You weren't horrible. You did what you thought would be best for me.”

 

“I did what I thought would be best for me,” his mother said and moved one hand so she could sandwich Jongin's between both of hers. She turned and stared at Jongin meaningfully. “Jongin, will you ever forgive me? I did try to treat you well as a child, but then you started talking about dancing and...Oh, Jongin, I should have let you dance. I should have encouraged you to do the things you loved. You did dance so well. I saw you once on the street. And you're so handsome. You could have been just like your friends, but I was greedy. Ever since I met your father, all I wanted was to be the mother of his children, but I was young and stupid when I agreed to take you in, but I did want to take you in. I wanted to raise you. I shouldn't have, but I did.”

 

“He took your real son away,” Jongin said holding his mother's hand back.

 

She pressed her lips together and squeezed Jongin's hand. “Yes, yes he did and then he offered me you, that manipulative bastard. All I had to do in return was raise you until he needed his puppet bastard son. I'm an awful mother.”

 

Jongin took his hand away from her hold and instead wrapped an arm around her shoulder and brought his mother closer to him. “You're not awful. Hard, maybe. Stupid, who's not? But, we all make mistakes or do things we may regret later. I should have told you I was moving instead of scaring you like that. But, the important thing is you loved me.”

 

His mother moved in closer and sighed. “Oh, I do love you, Jongin. I love you very much. I always felt horrible when I got calls about you being rebellious, but it was because I thought I was doing this all wrong. I would think it was a good thing he took my child because I was already screwing up you.”

 

Jongin turned his head and laid it against his mother's, kissing the side of her head. “You didn't screw me up. I was perfectly capable of doing that myself. You had your own issues and no one was helping you. Whatever bad thing you think you did, it's really alright. I'm alright, Mom. I'm happy.”

 

His mother moved away and looked at Jongin. She looked him up and down, eyes glittering, then reached out and cupped his face gently. “Are you happy, really?”

 

Jongin nodded. “I'm happy. I want to take over the company. I'm not moving out because I don't want to be around you anymore, I'm moving out because I can. I'm moving in with a friend for now. He lives in a really expensive apartment that's too big for him. The one I gave the cat to.”

 

His mother smiled and let go of Jongin's face. “I should have let you keep the cat. Your father said he didn't even want purebred dogs in this house.”

 

“It's alright. I'm alright,” Jongin assured. “Are you?”

 

Jongin's mother cocked her head then looked away. “I do find this man pleasant. Your step-father...I never liked him, you know that. He was very gentle with me, but he never understood I didn't want him. I only married him because I needed to be with someone. I don't have to be with this man, but I am enjoying dating him.”

 

Jongin nodded. “Mom, I'll buy you a house if you ever need it. If father kicks you out, or you can't stay with your lover anymore, I'll buy you a house.”

 

Jongin's mother shook her head and stood. “No, that's alright, Jongin. If things don't work out with Changmin, I'll go back to my parents.”

 

Jongin frowned. “I thought you guys didn't talk. I've never met them.”

 

“They don't want to meet you, Jongin,” his mother said with a sad frown. “They know you were adopted, but they're old now and I don't have any siblings. I'll go and help take care of them.”

 

Jongin nodded and stood. “Two weeks? There must be lots to do in Hawaii.”

 

His mother smiled and started for the door. “You're young. I'm sure you could come up with lots to do in Hawaii.”

 

Jongin thought about that as his mother left.

 

Jongin made a face and buried himself in his mattress.

  
Disgusting.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated. One more chapter.


	24. More Ferarum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter. I hope you enjoy.

**24. _More Ferarum_**

 

    There was a click from the apartment balcony door. Jongin turned away from his video game to watch Lu Han slip inside in his corseted pant-boots and trench coat. The hunter lowered the curtains on the balcony's large glass windows before beginning to unhook the many weapon straps connected to his outfit then begin to unlace the leather contraption of his pants. Once freed, Lu Han picked up his splayed about articles and finally looked at Jongin, one hand on his hip and dick hanging out, swelled slightly from the relief of being out of those godforsaken jeggings, his other hand holding his balled up clothes.

 

“I'm home,” Lu Han said.

 

Jongin raised a brow looking up and down his lover. “I see that.”

 

Lu Han started towards his room, careful not to jostle his pants too much to keep the dirt on the bottom of his heels from falling onto anymore of the white carpet they had already dirtied. “I'm taking a shower. Can you feed Lu Cat?”

 

Jongin turned his head to look at the other end of the couch he'd been playing on to look at his companion for the past four hours. The gray ball of fur looked up at him lazily then towards the door Lu Han had disappeared into. It got up and stretched before jumping down onto the floor. Jongin saved his game and did the same.

 

“Come on, Lu Cat, you know the drill,” Jongin said heading into the kitchen. He went over to a cupboard he had dubbed The Cat's Cupboard and pulled out one of the many tiny bags of expensive edible cat products. “I fed you earlier so you're just getting a snack. I'm not letting you get fat like Lu Han does.”

 

Lu Cat circled around Jongin's legs as Jongin poured a few treats into one of the many many cat bowls Lu Han had collected. Jongin had quickly learned how to walk with the cat since becoming official with Lu Han and didn't trip once as he went back into the hall and to the corner where Lu Han had moved all of Lu Cat's jungle equipment and toys. Jongin still thought Lu Han should just give the cat the other guest room, but Lu Han said rooms weren't for cats and that they wouldn't have a guest room if he did that. If they had a guest, they could always sleep in Jongin's room. It's not like he slept in there if he could help it.

 

Jongin petted Lu Cat for a while as he ate then stood and went back to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and picked at a piece of cake left over from Junmyeon's birthday party at one of the hotels his mentor owned a couple days ago then down at leftover takeout Lu Han ordered yesterday. He walked back into the hall and headed to Lu Han's room.

 

“Lu Han, have you eaten tonight?” Jongin asked as he walked into Lu Han's room.

 

The water in the bathroom was off and Jongin could hear Lu Han rustling about by the bathroom door.

 

“I did. Zitao forced me to eat cake with him because I missed his and Baekhyun's combined birthday celebration,” Lu Han yelled from the bathroom.

 

Jongin nodded and moved to Lu Han's bed, getting comfortable by kicking off all the comforters and leaving just the replaceable white sheets and turned on the television. He watched a music show as he waited for Lu Han to come back out.

 

Lu Han walked out after a few minutes, the only towel he had used to continue to dry his hair. He looked over at the windows in his room, shades already drawn, then at Jongin. “How was work?”

 

“Boring,” Jongin said turning off the program. Wonsik had just finished his group's activities and Taemin was still in Japan so he didn't have much interest in the bands that were on. “My father tried to point out something I did wrong and Mr. Bang covered up for me. It's good having people owe you one.”

 

“You've become so manipulative,” Lu Han said and dropped the towel from his head, putting it on the corner of the bed and crawled on, naked and still a little damp.

 

Jongin took in the image of his lover's taunt form and reached out for him. “You sure? I think you're manipulative teasing me like this.”

 

“Teasing?” Lu Han said and raised a brow as he climbed onto Jongin's lap. “I'm not teasing. I'm a completely prepared feast laid out in front of you, Jongin, just waiting to be devoured.” Lu Han spread his arms out for emphasis.

 

Jongin moved his hands to Lu Han's hips, pressing his fingers into them. “Really? All for me?”

 

Lu Han nodded, skin blushing pink as he started to lose confidence, but Lu Han could get cocky once he figured out how to do something, and he had easily learned how to seduce Jongin. Honestly, just those infuriating pant-boots were enough to get Jongin riled up. Lu Han wasn't much better. A few embarrassing words and Lu Han was a sputtering angry pile of goo in his hands.

 

Jongin trailed his hands up higher and pressed his fingers against a couple of the tiniest white scars on Lu Han's torso then to the larger one on his stomach, all barely visible. “You're really manly, aren't you? But, beautiful.” Jongin leaned in and kissed Lu Han's stomach lightly.

 

Lu Han hitched then looked down at Jongin and glared. “Don't start spouting that stuff. You do that all day. Can't you just do something?”

 

Jongin frowned and leaned back against the headboard of Lu Han's bed. “No, you do it. I'm not feeding myself.”

 

Lu Han rolled his eyes. He looked around the room then grabbed Jongin's shoulders and pushed him down a bit on the headboard before scooting up so his hips were almost aligned with Jongin's face.

 

Jongin looked up at Lu Han with a raised brow.

 

Lu Han smirked. “What, not going to eat?”

 

Right, so he wanted to play like that? Jongin stared at Lu Han's crotch, at his member that seemed excited about bullying Jongin, then over to one of his white creamy thighs. Jongin shifted a little and grabbed Lu Han's hips bringing him closer to his face before opening his mouth and burying his fangs into the inside of one of Lu Han's thighs.

 

Lu Han gasped and immediately grabbed onto the headboard. “Jongin!”

 

Jongin sucked small trickles of blood then removed himself and licked the mark clean. He looked up at Lu Han. The hunter's eyes were closed, body shaking as he held on tight to the headboard as venom coursed through him both stinging and pleasurable. Jongin shifted more and held Lu Han in place by his hips as he started sucking the underside of Lu Han's member causing Lu Han to shake more before a moan broke out and he finally opened his eyes looking down at Jongin receiving a grin from the vampire. Jongin then took Lu Han's member into his mouth and started sucking, careful of his fangs that grazed the sensitive flesh no matter how hard he tried not to. Lu Han moved his hips not bothered by the small nicks. They healed as soon as they were made not even deep enough for blood. Being a vampire, past or present, left a very high tolerance for pain and the tiniest of it could be pleasurable.

 

Jongin didn't mess around for long. He moved off Lu Han's dick and moved his head to suck and kiss one of his hips, biting into it. He sucked a little blood before pulling off and watched a trickle of the red liquid run down Lu Han's leg, curving against the contours of his body. He caught the stream before it could fall onto the white sheets and smeared it against Lu Han's thigh then up his side painting his lover’s pale body with red..

 

“Jongin,” Lu Han groaned. He was staring down at Jongin with a desperate look in his twinkling eyes. His member was completely hard now and twitching.

 

“Alright,” Jongin said and reached under the neighboring pillow for their bottle of lube. He coated both his hands in it, one going behind Lu Han to start lathering his entrance with wet caresses and the other going to Lu Han's hardness, jacking him off right in front of his face. Once he had coaxed two fingers inside, Jongin stopped moving his other hand and let Lu Han do the work. He looked up and down Lu Han's lithe body over him as he clung to the headboard fucking Jongin's hand as well as helping to loosen himself up by pushing back on Jongin's fingers making them touch that spot inside him before Jongin really meant to.

 

Lu Han came shooting only a bit onto his lover's face and the headboard, most of it caught in Jongin's hand. Lu Han slumped against the headboard and Jongin removed his fingers waiting for his lover to calm down before they could continue. He was so hard just watching Lu Han. Lu Han's breaths were still labored when he reached to the side for tissues and handed them to Jongin to clean his hand and face with. Lu Han slid down his body and laid his head on Jongin's chest, almost purring as he waited as well until Jongin was ready to move on.

 

“Lu Han,” Jongin said once cleaned.

 

Lu Han looked up at him, eyes still glazed and they met in a kiss all teeth and tongue and blood as they nipped each other playfully before pulling away in a slow and sensual separation. Jongin kept his eyes locked with Lu Han's as the naked hunter slid down and started to push Jongin's shirt up, a simple tank top he'd thrown on when he'd come home. Lu Han looked away only when the expanse of Jongin's stomach and chest were revealed. Jongin worked his shirt off the rest of the way and watched Lu Han kiss and adore his torso then sit up planting himself square on Jongin's abs with a playful grin.

 

Jongin frowned and moved his hands around Lu Han's body to get his own boxers off, mostly just kicking them off causing Lu Han to bounce on top of him. When they were gone, Lu Han didn't move.

 

“What?” Jongin asked pleasurably annoyed.

 

Lu Han shrugged then looked down at his limp organ.

 

Jongin sat up a bit and brought Lu Han into another intense kiss. He ran his hand along Lu Han's neck then down the spine of his back and back up. When he'd touched all of Lu Han's back he began trailing his kisses away from Lu Han's lips and down his long neck then collarbone, teasing potential bites, before moving to his chest and licking Lu Han's nipples, sucking them, lightly poking them with his fangs, until Lu Han grabbed onto his hair and forced him back into a kiss indicating he was definitely pleasured again.

 

When they broke from the kiss, Jongin leaned back and watched as Lu Han pressed his entrance against Jongin's hard member then sat up and lowered himself on it, holding it with one hand while he held everything else out of the way so Jongin could get a clear view of himself entering the hunter. Jongin grew even harder the moment he was inside Lu Han. Lu Han bit his lip when he was filled. He stroked himself to clear his head of the sudden feeling before he started moving. Lu Han planted both hands behind him on Jongin's legs as he started moving up and down on Jongin's dick. Jongin let Lu Han start it off without any help before grabbing his lover's thighs and thrusting up every few motions.

 

Lu Han liked to initiate sex, Jongin found. Though he had been apprehensive about doing it for years, Jongin was glad he hadn't ruined Lu Han's first time with a man. He'd been comfortable enough to do it again...and again...and again. Honestly, Lu Han seemed to have better ideas about sex than when Jongin initiated it. Not that Jongin wasn't any good, but Jongin's past sex life had included going with the flow of his gang or random one offs and booty calls. The vacation with Taemin had been the most romantic thing he'd ever experienced prior to Lu Han. He was good at the romance part, or at least Jongin liked to claim he was because he had always thought of how he could romance Lu Han into a date and it had worked, but he'd already romanced Lu Han just by being himself. Lu Han had been raised with vampires for a hundred years. He'd had to seduce women into giving him their blood and who knew what Minseok had taught him. If Lu Han was so excited about using what he'd learned with a man and a man he loved, than Jongin was happy. He didn't mind letting Lu Han lead.

 

But, fuck, if he couldn't get any sexier riding Jongin hard and fast enough that it burned the core of Jongin’s belly with pleasure. Lu Han's eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings and his toned white abs rippled with pleasure and small spasms as he tightened around Jongin's length and rolled his hips showing it all to Jongin. Just as Jongin thought he wouldn't last much longer, Lu Han grinned and stopped completely. His body seemed reluctant to do it, but he did and pressed his hands against Jongin's abs. He arched his back, giving Jongin's dick a good squeeze before moving off. Jongin stared at his lover confused, hands flat on the bed looking sad not to have Lu Han's thighs to squeeze onto. He didn't go far, though. Lu Han turned around so his back was to Jongin and grabbed his dick again, letting Jongin watch him put it in from a different angle. Jongin let out a thankful moan as soon as he was back inside Lu Han and the hunter started to move again, hands reaching out looking for Jongin. Jongin happily took Lu Han's hands in his, helping him ride him harder and faster, lifting his knees up to get better balance. Lu Han started letting his voice out, small gasps and deep moans. Jongin wanted to see it, but he couldn't. All he could see was the beautiful expanse of Lu Han's white white tantalizing back that led to his delicious neck. Jongin could feel his eyes shifting, his more beastly instincts coming alive and settling into bloodlust. Jongin let go of one of Lu Han's hands so he could push himself up into a sitting position.

 

“Jongin,” Lu Han gasped as his rhythm was suddenly interrupted by Jongin moving. He whined, but quieted down when Jongin nuzzled the nape of his neck and brought their still attached hands in front of Lu Han to hold him tightly against himself.

 

“Lu Han,” Jongin breath against Lu Han's neck still nuzzling him. He brought his free hand around and grabbed one of Lu Han's thighs, spreading his legs open and getting him comfortable in his lap.

 

The hunter keened as the repositioning managed to get Jongin's dick pressed against his prostate. He settled down though and tilted his head presenting his neck to Jongin, heart beating fast and blood sizzling with a sweet sweet excitement. Jongin kissed along that neck, humming soft words that were barely words at all before sinking his teeth into Lu Han's shoulder.

 

Lu Han gasped and tightened and Jongin kept a hold of Lu Han's thigh as he started to thrust up into him while taking small sucks of Lu Han's blood. Lu Han couldn't move much with Jongin drinking from him in this position. He could only let Jongin thrust into him sloppily as stinging pleasure coursed through his system driving him crazy. He squeezed Jongin's hand and moved his free hand to Jongin's head to tug his hair as the vampire drank.

 

Jongin didn't remove his fangs until he felt he'd come. The iron sweetness gave him a rush and he let go of Lu Han's hand so he could hold both of his thighs and spread them more, thrusting up shallowly. Freed, Lu Han leaned forward and pressed his hands to the bed for leverage as he pressed back with Jongin's moves, looking behind him as he did. Jongin stared at Lu Han's lustful eyes as he moved with his lover then went back to looking at his back. He was close and Lu Han probably was, too. He started to kiss up Lu Han's back and shoulder then met Lu Han's turned head in a kiss, breaking it when he finally spilled into his lover. Lu Han made a surprised sound at the feeling and Jongin reached around him to finish him off.

 

They stayed awkwardly for a few muggy seconds before Lu Han moved forward and Jongin fell back onto the bed. Lu Han turned and curled up next to Jongin, both spent, but recovering quickly. Jongin pulled Lu Han to him and hugged him close, burying his nose in his neck. Lu Han squirmed, laughing, and Jongin caught him with one leg over his hip, but let him pull away.

 

“You're sexy,” Jongin said looking into Lu Han's sparkling eyes as the hunter sat up.

 

Lu Han grinned as he reached for the towel he’d left on the edge of the bed and started wiping himself off. “Thanks, I try.”

 

Jongin smirked and just laid there with his lover. He really liked living with Lu Han. Another month and he'd get to stay as much as he wanted with his name on the lease. It had been so easy to fall into a life with Lu Han. The easiest out of all of Jongin's changes.

 

“What?” Lu Han asked.

 

He must have been making a weird face, but Jongin just shrugged. “Just thinking about how much I love you.”

 

“Sap. You can keep some of those words back, you know. You've got, I don't know, an eternity to say them.”

 

Jongin smiled and turned away to look for the television remote. “I’ve got more than an eternity of words to tell you.”

 

“Then you can start out with this,” Lu Han said as he moved and laid down beside Jongin.

 

“What?” Jongin turned to his lover to see him dangling a silver chain with a silver cross hanging down from it. Jongin reached up and tapped the necklace.

 

“I found it in the laundry,” Lu Han said and dropped it into Jongin’s hand. “I figured it was yours. It had your blood on it.”

 

Jongin frowned at the piece of jewelry then laughed. “Can you ignore it? I did something stupid with it.”

 

“Is it something precious?” Lu Han asked. If Jongin wasn’t wrong, he could sense a bit of jealousy in the hunter’s words. “I never see you wear it.”

 

“It’s not something I wear, just something I have,” Jongin said and turned to put the necklace on the table beside him. “It was a gift from my step-father.”

 

“I see. Then I’m glad I found it.” Lu Han moved in closer to Jongin, cuddling him. Usually, Lu Han wasn’t so cuddly. If he wanted affection in a nonsexual manner, he manipulated Jongin into initiating it. He was very like Lu Cat.

 

“What is it?” Jongin asked.

 

“Jongin,” Lu Han started, “Can you take time off in July, after you get moved in?”

 

“I can, but what for?”

 

“Let's go to Jeju. Yifan said I could take a vacation.”

 

Jongin turned to stare at Lu Han. His eyes were sparkling, but they weren’t giving away anything other than the usual feelings they held. “Why Jeju? I mean, I know I don't have a passport yet, but we could wait and I could get one.”

 

Lu Han shook his head and smiled crookedly. “Don't you want to see your step-father?”

 

Jongin's eyes widened. That was where he knew his step-father to be currently. His face softened and he brought Lu Han to him for a tight hug.

 

“Thank you, Lu Han.”

 

**$**

 

“You look ridiculous wearing that mask in the middle of summer,” Jongin said looking his lover up and down. There was a one hundred percent difference in Lu Han's vacation wardrobe compared to the leathers and latex of his monster hunter look as well as the suits he wore when he worked at the bank. He had low crotch joggers on with a plain but expensive white t-shirt and a snap back turned backwards holding most of his fluffy hair back from his forehead, and then there was the white mask.

 

“Well, someone let it leak that they were coming on vacation on Jeju,” Lu Han said. “I can't let the reporters know my face too well or they might start getting suspicious.”

 

“I've been on vacation before with Taemin, they're not going to get suspicious, but fine,” Jongin said and adjusted his sunglasses then rolled up one of the sleeves of his button upd to a three-quarter sleeve. He didn't feel hot even though he could see the heat making mirages on the hoods of cars all along the street and had tried to dress for the weather like a normal human being.

 

They had arrived on Jeju Island yesterday afternoon and Jongin had spent all night sleeping while Lu Han searched up the location for where Jongin's step-father would be as well as made their itinerary for the week they'd be spending together. Apparently their hotel doubled as a spa and Jongin had seen the hot tub right outside their very expensive room for their own personal pleasure. Jongin's own plans for the trip were to see his step-father then spend the rest of the week rolling around with Lu Han having as much neck biting sex as they could to rival and beat the time he'd gone with Taemin to a hot spring in Japan. Jongin knew Lu Han had initially brought up them coming here so he could see his step-father, but this was also Jongin's first vacation with the love of his life and he was going to make the most of that.

 

Lu Han made a face at the mention of the vacation he'd taken with Taemin and turned away. “Yeah, yeah, let's find your father's store before he closes it. I couldn't find where exactly he's living, but his store is on this strip.”

 

Jongin followed Lu Han as they walked on a sidewalk not too far from one of Jeju's many beaches. He looked towards the gold sand and blue waves as Lu Han stuck his nose into a notebook he'd been writing directions down in. They had come later in the afternoon after getting their fill of seaside food and a quick swim at their hotel's pool and shower. The sun was starting to set and it turned the sky red where it was beginning to kiss the horizon, the blue blue water turning murky as darkness came. Jongin thought it would have been more breathtaking than it was, but maybe that was because he was apprehensive about seeing his step-father again after ten years so everything seemed murky. He couldn't believe it had been that long. The divorce had happened so quickly, Jongin had barely been able to gather himself and he had forced any feelings for the old man he saw as a father figure out. He knew he was alright, and this wasn't a bad place to settle down for an old man. His step-father was definitely getting traffic being close to the beach and he got to see the sunset on more beautiful afternoons than this one and hear the laughing and ruckus of beach goers all year round. And he got to see sunrises.

 

“Lu Han, let's watch a sunrise one morning,” Jongin said.

 

Lu Han turned away from his notebook to analyze Jongin and his question. When Jongin didn't look at him, the hunter pocketed his book and came to stand beside Jongin looking out at the ocean as well watching the sun lower. “We can come back any time this week, Jongin. The main reason we came here was to see your step-father.”

 

Jongin sighed and turned to Lu Han. “I don't even know what to say to that old man. And he is old. He's in his seventies, almost eighties. He was almost fifty when I was born. He's not as gentle and great as I remember him being.”

 

“No one is,” Lu Han said and reached a hand out. “No one is the same as you saw them when you were a child.”

 

Jongin took Lu Han's hand and let the hunter lead him down the street. They stopped when a large old man walked out of one of the blue stores across the thin street from them a bit ahead. Jongin stared almost unable to believe it. In his memories, Jongin's step-father had been old, but he hadn't looked like a grandfather. He had still been strong and boisterous, but this fat man was wrinkled and burnt by both the island sun and his old age, shaking as he gathered the magazines off the front racks of his store getting ready to bring them in.

 

“Lu Han, I...maybe we should come back tomorrow,” Jongin said and started to turn back.

 

Lu Han walked behind Jongin and started to push him towards the little road between them. “Go, Jongin. Go now or you'll regret it. He's just a fat old man.”

 

Jongin looked at Lu Han with large pleading eyes. “Aren't you coming with me?”

 

“No, this is about you,” Lu Han said. “Besides, how would you explain me? As far as any of your parental human figures know, I'm just your friend. Don't complicate things, Jongin. I'll be right on that bench on the beach when you're done talking, alright? Take all the time you need, I don't mind.”

 

The feelings tightening in Jongin's chest made it hard for him to nod in agreement, but he understood Lu Han was right. He needed to do this now. Jongin took one step onto the little street then looked both ways before crossing. He took a deep breath once he got to the other side of the strip and kept his eyes on the blue store up ahead, hands in the pockets of his printed flat front shorts. He stopped when his shadow cast across the entrance of the store and the old man looked up at him, eyes squinting.

 

He didn't use to squint.

 

Jongin remembered watching his step-father read to him when his mother went out 'shopping'. It was always a magazine off one of the store's shelves. Sometimes he'd play video games with Jongin behind the clerk counter where he had a small television Jongin could hook his games to or he'd simply put whatever CD Jongin liked into the player and let his step-son dance to his heart's content outside the store bringing in more customers and men and women in suits or with neck badges, probably scouting agents. Jongin knew he'd been scouted a couple times when he was very very young, but his step-father had never given him any of the cards and his mother had always thrown them away so Jongin never knew which companies they were for, but his step-father still let him dance.

 

“Oh, hello, may I help you young...sir...” Jongin's step-father asked squinting more and looking Jongin up and down. “I'm afraid I'm about to close up my shop.”

 

“Dad,” Jongin called out, his voice cracking at the end.

 

The old man's eyebrows furrowed and he turned away to put the magazines he'd collected down and grabbed a pair of glasses out of his shirt pocket, putting them on before looking Jongin up and down again. His eyes were wide this time.

 

“Dad,” Jongin repeated, unable to keep his voice steady.

 

“J-Jongin? Surely not,” his step-father said. “My Jonginnie?”

 

Jongin nodded and took a step forward. Hist step-father opened his arms and Jongin rushed into the hug. The old man held Jongin tight. Jongin held back just as tight, taking in his step-father's old scent of paper and dust and too much sweat now laced with the smell of sea spray. It wasn't a good scent, Jongin always thought the man smelled bad, but it was a familiar smell and one he felt safe with.

 

Jongin's step-father was the first to pull away, patting Jongin's back a bit too hard as he did. “Oh, my boy, I didn't think I'd be able to see you again. Your father bought me out and moved me out here and heaven knows your mother was never my biggest fan.”

 

“I'm your fan, though, Dad,” Jongin said. His mouth hurt. He realized he was smiling uncontrollably.

 

Jongin's step-father reached up and patted the side of Jongin's face smiling as well. “Yes, yes, of course you are. Oh, are you hungry? I was about to get something to eat. Here, here, sit and I'll be right back.

 

Jongin watched the old man hobble a few stores down and took a seat on one of the stools at the front of his step-father's shop. It was very familiar to the one he'd had in Seoul, but a tad smaller and more appropriate for the beach. His step-father came back not long after with a bowl of rice cakes in hot sauce and some fish cakes.

 

“It's not much, but it's what I live off from on slow nights,” his step-father said.

 

“You were never good at eating your vegetables,” Jongin said and waited for his step-father to eat first.

 

“So, what are you doing out here? Is it something for work? I heard you're wrecking your father over at the bank.”

 

Jongin chuckled. “My father isn't much competition.”

 

“Oh, did you finally get some smarts in you?” the old man asked, laughing with twinkling eyes as he picked at his food. “Well, that didn't come from me. Not that anything did really. Oh, but why are you here, then?”

 

“To see you,” Jongin said then looked behind him. He could see Lu Han spread out on the bench on the beach, snapback about to fall off with how his neck hung over the back of the bench, looking like some punk ass kid, and chuckled. “A friend brought me.”

 

“Oh, a friend,” Jongin's step-father said and winked.

 

Jongin shook his head though it was true. “A male friend. Since I've been doing well learning to take over the bank, they thought I should go on vacation.”

 

“And your vacation is to come see me?” his step-father asked shaking his head. “You should be out playing with girls. Don't you have a lover yet, boy? You're plenty good looking enough. I see ya on my magazines. Some of these young girls that come up here in their bikinis remember you from when we lived in Seoul. I could hook you up with them if you're here on vacation. Some of them might be high and mighty daughters.”

 

Jongin shook his head. “No, no, I have a lover.”

 

“Oh, you do? I could find ya a prettier one.”

 

Jongin frowned and glanced behind him again. “You'd be hard press to find one any prettier or cuter than my lover already.”

 

“Ah, seems you've been grounded,” Jongin's step-father pointed out. “They must be older than.”

 

“Quite a bit older, yes,” Jongin said truthfully. He was grounded, but Jongin didn't think that was the right word. Lu Han made him float. Even back when Jongin hadn't known what to do with himself, just being around Lu Han, flirting with him and getting flirted back, made him feel real.

 

His step-father hummed. “Well, at least you're not afraid of older people.” The man sighed and started to stab at the rice cakes. “How's your mother?”

 

Jongin felt uncomfortable. He had a feeling, but he could already tell his step-father was no saint. “Good. She's been dating.”

 

“Hmm, good for her. Men around her age I'm guessing. Even though she slept with your father, that girl never did like older men unless they were handsome and rich.”

 

“Yes, he's younger than my father, I believe. I haven't met him myself other than in passing. But, she's getting along. We haven't talked much recently.”

 

“You two still fighting? It seems you want to take over the bank now, though.”

 

“I do want to take over the bank,” Jongin said. “I...I know she's not my birth mother.”

 

Jongin's step-father looked up at Jongin then back down at his food. “Oh, so she told you.”

 

“Not meaning to. You knew?” Jongin asked.

 

“I wasn't sure, but I married the girl anyways. I thought it was weird she had to adopt you, but your father's a real jerk and I mean that.”

 

“I'm not offended,” Jongin said.

 

“Good, cuz you're a little shit, but you're good, Jongin, nothing like that bastard father of yours even if you're a literal bastard.”

 

Jongin frowned. “I was legitimized.”

 

“Yes, yes, don't worry about this old man's words. I haven't been able to filter my self for the past few years. That all went with my eyesight, not that I was good at it before. It's probably why I could never seduce your mother. She told me when we were divorcing. I wanted to try to get some rights over you, but I would have had to adopt you as well before. You apparently don't come with the marriage. Stupid, right?”

 

Jongin nodded. “Do you regret the divorce?”

 

“Of course I do,” Jongin's step-father growled. “I loved that girl...at the very least, I wanted her. And you were a joy to be around, Jongin, a real light in my life. I didn't have any kids I'm no good with women. You were and still are, my son, Jongin. I would have adopted you if that bastard, Eunjoon, would have let me.”

 

Jongin reached across the table and placed a hand on his step-father's wrist. “Thank you.”

 

“For what?” his step-father asked.

 

Jongin smiled down at the table and removed his hand. “Just...it's nice to know you're still the same.”

 

The old man smiled and reached up to touch Jongin's face again. “You're not the same, though, Jongin. You're not an angry little kid, you're a determined young man and that's so much more dangerous.”

 

Jongin was more than that, but he didn't respond.

 

“I mean, look at this hair,” Jongin's step-father said and tugged a strand of Jongin’s platinum locks.

 

Jongin laughed and pulled away. This, this was good.

 

**$**

 

“I smell like a perfume store,” Jongin said as they arrived back into their room after spending all day at the spa in their hotel.

 

“No one told you to take a flower bath and then you got an oil massage,” Lu Han said following him in and putting the bag with their clothes on the dresser of their room.

 

The room itself was styled after old korean homes, but with a modern look. Everything was low to the ground, their bed on a platform just slightly raised from the floor, but large with a ton of pillows. A sliding glass wall that frosted over when it closed separated the bedroom from the bathroom and sitting area that greeted them when they first walked in. There was another sliding glass door by the bed that didn't frost over that led to their own personal hot tub outside. Jongin walked over to look at it, sliding the glass open. It smelled warm and salty. Fresh. Jongin could still feel the oil on his skin from the message and turned to Lu Han.

 

“I'm going to get into the hot tub,” Jongin said.

 

“You're not going to wash off first?” Lu Han asked.

 

Jongin walked out and looked into the warm water continuously bubbling. “It's got a filter or else there would be a ton of bugs in it.”

 

“Okay, go on then. I think I've still got oatmeal in my hair.” Lu Han walked back into the living room.

 

Jongin frowned seeing the hunter leave, but dropped his robe and walked out of his slippers standing bare naked outside. Well, it wasn't completely outside. There was an awning above his head and many plants and fake rocks decorating the perimeter of their hotel's outside with a wall that would be difficult to climb up. They were also six floors up. It was risky for him to be out in the open like this and even more risky to have Lu Han with him, but the hotel was in Lu Han's name as was all the spa stuff and Jongin didn't sense any reporters better yet a neighbor. It wasn't like Jongin was a music idol or actor who constantly had people on his tail. He was just a young handsome heir. A young handsome heir with an equally rich beautiful foreign lover. If he had managed to keep up with Taemin and not end up in a newspaper, then he could manage to make love with Lu Han. It wasn't like they hadn't already done it in the sauna.

 

Lu Han came back only a couple minutes later with only a towel around his waist, dripping wet, and eying the opened door. He moved his gaze over to Jongin relaxing in the hot bath as if he could actually feel the heat of it.

 

“There aren't any reporters around?” Lu Han asked.

 

“Nope,” Jongin said. “Not a single eye is watching me. We took a taxi to a whole different hotel yesterday to eat just to avoid them and then we came jumping into this hotel like deadly assassins in the crack of morning.”

 

“I was a deadly assassin,” Lu Han pointed out.

 

Jongin raised a hand. “Right, so point is no one is here to see us so I think you should come join me now that you're washed off.”

 

“You made the water all oily,” Lu Han complained.

 

“It's not oily. There are already salts in this water, I can smell them. And it's not like you didn't dunk yourself in a bath of milk and oatmeal and get drizzled with honey. That was ridiculous.”

 

Lu Han glared. “You're not really convincing me by reminding me. I didn't want to bath in mud. That was the next most ridiculous thing on the menu next to your flower shower.”

 

Jongin chuckled then grinned. “You want me to convince you? And you were the one who grabbed my dick in the sauna, but alright, I'll convince you.” Jongin stood, letting the hot water run down his toned body. He reached down and grabbed his member, beginning to stroke it. Other than the privacy of the awning and the strategically placed plant perimeter, Jongin was completely exposed knee deep in a hot tub disguised as a hot spring, staring at his lover with heady eyes.

 

Lu Han swallowed hard as his eyes raked up and down Jongin's body then met Jongin's eyes, pupils dilating, still having a bit of that cat like quality to them from the small bit of vampire venom still lingering dormant in his blood. Jongin could smell the blood in his veins begin to vibrate even from the couple meter distance they had. Jongin bared his fangs and saw Lu Han shiver. The hunter had become just as much addicted to Jongin's bite as Jongin had his lover's blood, but it wasn't about that. Jongin had already visited with his step-father, the rest of this trip was about them. They had spent the past ten years just learning the very basics of each other and the past five months learning the dramatics. Now living with Lu Han, Jongin could pick up on more of Lu Han's quirks and vice versa. They weren't all that similar, but they weren't all that different either. They worked and they had years to continue to work. And their bodies worked. Jongin wanted to touch Lu Han, to make him feel good, but he never wanted to force Lu Han. But, Lu Han was a lot more sexual than he originally appeared. Jongin's own blood began to boil with lust as it reacted to Lu Han.

 

After a few seconds more, Lu Han bit his bottom lip, tiny fang poking into the pink flesh enough to make it bleed as if to hold off just one more second, one more tantalizing second. His hand moved to the towel around his waist and he dropped it before walking out onto the balcony and straight into the water.

 

Jongin stopped stroking himself and stood their with his arms parted just enough to be inviting, but not embracing. Lu Han waded up to him, eyes unlocking from Jongin's and moving down his body the closer the hunter got. He stopped only a hand's reach away and placed a hand on Jongin's hip, rubbing it with slender pale fingers. He moved them along the line of Jongin's hips then down the inside of his thigh emerging into the water then coming back up, trailing droplets along Jongin's skin. His hand moved to Jongin's stomach, fingering the area around his belly button then began to gently pet the small bit of happy trail that led down to Jongin's hard on, twitching with annoyance at being avoided. Jongin kept himself from moving his hips forward. His would touch Lu Han's growing erection if he did, but he was memorized by his lover's fingers as they danced around his lower body and Lu Han seemed to be entranced by him as well. They were so exposed to each other. If Jongin ignored the artificial lights that gave just enough glow to act like a fake moon and everything behind the sliding glass doors, he could pretend they were in a real hot spring in the middle of the woods in the mountains close to a shore. He could hear the waves, but he could also hear cars. In Lu Han's human time, perhaps there were still enchanted places like that where lovers could go and bare themselves completely with no one's eyes there to care. They could be animals and yet still human.

 

Lu Han lifted his eyes to Jongin's, still petting the vampire's sensitive flesh. Lu Han's eyes glittered, round and deer like, long lashes begging to be kissed. Jongin didn't let them beg long. He reached out and grabbed the back of Lu Han's hair, jerking his head back enough to shock Lu Han into stillness before leaning down. He lightly placed a kiss to each of Lu Han's eyes, feeling the flutter of his lashes against his lips as he moved away. Lu Han stayed completely still, one hand still reaching out to touch Jongin. His eyes wavered with feelings looking somewhere around Jongin's collarbone. He was like pray trying to decide whether it still had a chance to run or fight or if it should just give up. Beautiful delicious prey that Jongin vowed to devour completely in every way.

 

The hunter gasped when Jongin descended on him with a hard kiss to his lips. He licked the blood that had trailed along them from Lu Han's bite and sucked their small fullness until Lu Han finally succumbed and reached out to pull them together and kissed back. Their members pressed together, but Jongin ignored the sting of pleasure from the contact. He moved his free hand not curled in Lu Han's hair to hold the hunter's body against his own. He held at the small of Lu Han's back then moved his hand lower groping his lover's ass without holding back then down to a thigh. Lu Han just moved closer in response, hands beginning to moved between them, feeling up Jongin's chest then over his shoulder and into his hair. He playfully tugged at one of Jongin's ears until the vampire finally stopped the kiss.

 

Jongin moved back just a breath's length and stared at the flushed hunter who still had his fingers combing through Jongin's hair. Jongin moved his hands back to Lu Han's bottom and kept hold of him as he dunked into the water taking Lu Han with him. The hunter leaned down and kissed Jongin with short slow movements as Jongin waded to the side of the hot tub where little seats were built into the fake rock. He sat, Lu Han on his knees facing him in the water, chest halfway out. Jongin leaned in to kiss Lu Han's chest. He teased the hunter's nipples with his fangs gaining low moans and shivers from his lover. Lu Han let him have his way with the top half of his body as he moved his hips wanton against Jongin's lap, erections brushing each other with the movements. Jongin growled and pulled Lu Han to him when he couldn't take it anymore. He buried his face in Lu Han's neck, teasing the skin where excited blood pulsed while he teased Lu Han's hole. He thrust two fingers and finding Lu Han too tight for more. His robe was close by and Jongin reached for it blindly as he held Lu Han to him keeping the hunter from getting away. He'd purchased a sample of one of the massage oils they had started to rub in his private parts before Jongin told them not to. (He wasn't sure if the women had been hitting on him or if that was part of their job. They were both vampires, though, Jongin could tell. Most of the spa staff seemed to be. After all, the hotel was owned by Junmyeon's mentor, Jongin's own uncle.). Jongin pulled the small tube out and nuzzled Lu Han's neck with small bloodless nips that had him whining as Jongin coated his fingers then inserted them again into Lu Han.

 

“Jongin, bite me,” Lu Han groaned into his ear as Jongin began to thrust three fingers into him, curling them around.

 

“No,” Jongin moaned back.

 

Suddenly, there were teeth in Jongin's shoulder and he groaned as the hunter lapped up his blood, blood that would excite the vampire part of him, but do nothing to change his negated status. But, the action made Jongin excited and he removed his fingers and pulled Lu Han away from him then brought him back down, his dick sliding between Lu Han's cheeks and he began to slowly fuck between his lover's legs.

 

Lu Han moaned and shifted his attention down there, rocking back. He planted his hands on Jongin's shoulder and did a bit of maneuvering until Jongin was sliding into Lu Han, his lubed heat holding tight and he moved slowly on Jongin's lap. Jongin met Lu Han's moves with deep thrusts and looked at Lu Han's face. Lu Han looked back, lips slightly parted, breathing with just enough effort to show his pleasure. Jongin lifted a hand and cupped Lu Han's face, caressed it softly as they moved, splashing water every few thrusts. Oh he loved this man so much. When they had their first human wedding, Jongin would have to thank his mother for changing Lu Han and for having him so he could meet this man, this beautiful man that had brought him so much comfort when Jongin wanted nothing more than to ruin himself.

 

“Jongin,” Lu Han moaned. “Bite me.”

 

Jongin chuckled and moved forward so he could  kiss against Lu Han's chest and tease his collarbone and neck. Lu Han started moving faster, breath hitching every time Jongin's fangs grazed his skin. He didn't bite, not yet. Jongin thrust up faster and the hunter bounced with their combined efforts looking ridiculous, but he was plenty strong and regained himself, though Jongin could tell by the look in his eyes, Lu Han wanted to just give himself over. He was prone to doing that then randomly regaining himself and coming up with something that drove Jongin's crazy. He seemed determined to keep his composure until Jongin obeyed him and bit him.

 

“Jongin, Jongin,” Lu Han chanted. “Fuck...Jongin fuck me harder.”

 

Jongin moaned and grabbed hold of Lu Han's hips pressing them hard against his own. Lu Han arched then fell forward and grabbed tight to Jongin. Jongin turned his head and kissed along Lu Han's neck, teased his earlobe with his fangs, and whispered, “Love you. Lu Han...my love...release and I'll make you feel good.”

 

Lu Han shivered in his hold and moved his hips with the hard thrusts. He grumbled a response, but Jongin understood what he was saying. “Love a stupid teasing bastard...why?”

 

Jongin continued to tease Lu Han's ear then caught his single earring containing Lu Han's emergency blood and twisted it with his tongue. Lu Han's whole body convulsed at that and Jongin felt the stickiness between their bodies. Lu Han began to whimper. Not crying, but frustrated sounds that tickled Jongin's ear and caused his blood to race. He licked a spot on Lu Han's shoulder, kissed it, sucked it as he thrust almost to his own end. Lu Han tightened around him.

 

“I won't let you cum if you don't bite me,” Lu Han threatened.

 

Jongin groaned. “As you command.”

 

Lu Han let loose and Jongin moaned as he thrust the last few times. He shot up into Lu Han and turned his eyes towards the glass of the sliding doors. He couldn't see himself at first, but soon his eyes showed, full blown irises and slitted pupils. He opened his mouth, glistening fangs showing and sunk them into Lu Han's porcelain skin with a growl.

 

“Jong...Jongin!”

  
Lu Han's body slumped against his, small streams of red flowed from the bite, over a trembling shoulder and down the hunter's pale back, separating at the contours of his muscles. It flowed in red tendrils lower and lower until the blood disappeared into the steamy surface of the water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are Appreciated. Look forward to other stories.

**Author's Note:**

> Completed.
> 
> This is my first time posting on here, but I've been writing fanfics for around ten years.


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